Blackstone River Greenway Bridge From MA To RI Begins Construction

BLACKSTONE, MA — State and local officials Thursday celebrated the start of construction on a new section of the Blackstone River Greenway that will create a key link between sections of a trail that will eventually connect 14 cities and towns between Worcester and Providence.

Thursday's groundbreaking begins construction of a very short but important piece of trail: a 1/2-mile bridge from the end of the 3-1/2 mile Blackstone River Greenway in Massachusetts to an existing trail in Woonsocket.

Once complete, pedestrians, bicyclists and other trail users will have a nearly unbroken pathway spanning about 15 miles from Uxbridge to Pawtucket.

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Plans call for the Blackstone River Greenway to eventually run 50 miles along its namesake river starting in Worcester at the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitor Center off McKeon Road (local pathways would continue the path into downtown Worcester). So far in Massachusetts, only a 2-1/2 mile section in Worcester and Millbury and the 3-1/2 mile section from Uxbridge to Blackstone are complete. That leaves about 18 miles between Millbury and Uxbridge with no trail.

The new bridge in Blackstone will also be part of the Southern New England Trunkline Trail, a 22-mile recreational path along a former railway that begins in Franklin.

The bridge from Blackstone to Rhode Island could take up to three years to complete, according to the state Department of Conversation and Recreation, and will cost about $11.3 million. Funding for the bridge was set aside by former governor Charlie Baker shortly before he left office.