The Rail Trail project team will provide a public presentation at the Feb. 26 Select Board meeting. The presentation will be led by Town Administrator Robert Dolan and Lynnfield Capital Program Director John Scenna, who recently transitioned in early January to fully managing the Rail Trail Project efforts alongside DPW Director and Town Engineer John Tomasz. In the upcoming months, the Rail Trail team will be working and preparing for the June MassDOT submission with fieldwork, survey work, and Geotech work in the Meadow. A Hydraulic Study will be completed during this time as well and Stantec will use all this information to develop bridge sketch plans that are the most significant item in the June submission to MassDOT. The team will also further explore and develop site plans, including walking paths around Turtle Island, crossings at Summer Street and Pillings Pond, and connections to the Middle School and High School athletic complexes. The project has some significant permitting challenges in the upcoming year as outlined in the presentation slides. As such, it will be working closely with Director Emilie Cademartori and the Planning and Conservation departments to outline possible upcoming permitting challenges, questions, and approaches, including how best to create and develop a phragmites plan. The town administrator’s office will be working with town officials in Wakefield to create a design memorandum of understanding with Wakefield and with legal counsel to begin the process of executing a long-term lease for the rail right of way and insurance procurement.
Background
The proposed Rail Trail is a centrally located, ADA-compliant recreational path that will connect many of the landmarks of Lynnfield including Reedy Meadow, the Lynnfield Middle School, the proposed library at Reedy Meadow Golf Course, Bethlehem School at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and Lynnfield High School. It also passes within a quarter mile of the Summer Street School, Lynnfield Town Hall, and the town’s center commercial district. The Rail Trail will provide a safe and convenient path for traveling between these locations, walking, jogging, biking, or just meeting friends and enjoying the natural beauty of Reedy Meadow. In effect, this trail will provide an alternative transportation route that connects many of the most frequently accessed destinations in town.
The Lynnfield section of the proposed Rail Trail is a 2.8-mile-long multi-use path and boardwalk extending from Nichols Lane in Peabody through Lynnfield to Fosters Lane in Wakefield. The Wakefield section will extend an additional 1.6 miles from Fosters Lane to the Galvin Middle School.
The Rail Trail corridor is the southern section of the former Newburyport Railroad that once connected Lynnfield to Newburyport. This corridor connects, via Peabody and Danvers, to the Border to Boston Trail, a proposed 30-mile rail trail linking eight Essex County communities — Danvers, Wenham, Topsfield, Boxford, Georgetown, Newbury, Newburyport, and Salisbury.
The 25% design process for the project was completed in 2019. The 75% design is in process and was initiated by the recently hired design consultant, Stantec, in early 2023. The project is currently listed on the State Transportation Improvement Program for funding in 2026.
