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Earlier this week Sudbury hosted a ribbon cutting for the newest section of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT). The high-profile and much anticipated grand opening was in the works for over a decade. Representatives of the various stakeholders made comments at the event, which took place at the intersection of the MCRT and the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (the “diamond junction”) in Sudbury.
Janie Dretler, Chair of the Sudbury Select Board, spoke to attendees, emphasizing how the trail will foster community connections across the region, and the importance of partnership to make it happen. She concluded “May this trail remind us that when we invest in connection, we build not only better paths, but stronger communities.”
The project was a collaboration between the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Eversource, and the Towns of Sudbury and Hudson, among several other stakeholders. Eversource buried a transmission line in the MBTA right-of-way through Sudbury and into Hudson, then DCR came in and paved and completed the section of the trail. The vision for the MCRT is to connect from Boston to Northampton.
The transmission line project was proposed over a decade ago, and was met with great opposition, in part due to fears of overhead transmission lines across town. Notes from some of the earliest meetings indicated that Eversource was pursuing an underground option in response to input from the community. “Eversource representatives confirmed that the Town did not propose the MBTA right‐of‐way routes, either overhead or underground, but said that, at some point, they understood the Town would prefer the underground right‐of‐way option. They said that Jody always made it clear that overhead lines would be greatly opposed anywhere in town. They referred to the November 2015 meeting in Hudson with both towns present when they talked about underground and street routes. After that, Eversource (not the Town) decided they would rather go in the right‐of‐way underground.” (Page 3 below).
During her remarks, Dretler referenced “many intense community conversations for Sudbury,” which acknowledged that Sudbury fought the project for years, which included multiple lawsuits. But she did not go into detail on the opposition during the celebration. Instead, all of the speakers set a celebratory and collaborative tone.
Sudbury’s state Rep. Carmine Gentile also made comments, emphasizing economic opportunity and community connections. He closed on a humorous note “I see here John Drobinski who was a Select Board member for 27 years here in Sudbury. I served with him on the Planning Board in the last century. Thank you for all your work, John.” Drobinski is currently serving as a co-chair of Sudbury’s Rail Trails Advisory Committee.
The MCRT is now officially open to the public. That might give Sudbury residents a bit of a chuckle, as the trail has been heavily utilized since paving was largely completed last year.
