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On December 18, the Sudbury Conservation Commission voted unanimously to extend the order of conditions for the Eversource Transmission Line Project and Mass Central Rail Trail for one year. (0:03:00)
The order of conditions on the combined projects was quite robust, and so far the Town of Sudbury has reported that Eversource has largely complied each step of the way. Residents can review the order of conditions here. Weekly environmental compliance packages are available on the Conservation Commission’s page here. Construction updates are available on the Town’s project page here.
During the meeting, the discussion was concise, but Sudbury’s Conservation Coordinator, Lori Capone, provided some helpful updates on the project including:
- Most of the Eversource infrastructure is already in the ground.
- Eversource needs more time to do plantings and other mitigations.
- The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is lined up to come in for paving and finish work on the Mass Central Rail Trail after Eversource is done, but they are expected to need another extension to complete their portion of the work.
- Capone expects DCR to ask for an additional year extension at a later date.
Mere months ago it was less clear which rail trail would be finished first in Sudbury. Today, it seems certain that the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (BFRT) will open before the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT). But the next phase of the BFRT, which takes it from the intersection with the MCRT near Union Ave and Station Road all the way to Framingham, is currently in the early design phases. That sets Sudbury up for a series of trail section openings in the coming years. The trails remain active construction sites right now, and public use has been discouraged by Town officials in Sudbury.