September 24, 2005

After many positive votes in Hudson, the Hudson section of the trail is open to the public. Only the Route 62 bridge over the Assabet River is unfinished, which will wait for a State project. This bridge opens on May 25, 2010, with the new ARRT bike lane now open. It closes what was a 100 yard gap in the trail.

May 17, 2001

Marlborough Trail Opening ceremony for the first completed section ( 3/4 mile long) of the 12 mile long Assabet River Rail Trail. Approximately 100 people attended the ceremony.

Marlborough is built in sections and completed on September 24, 2005.

1997

In 1995, the five communities commissioned a Feasibility Study (see Appendix) to be prepared by the State’s Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) and organized an Advisory Committee to work with CTPS in the preparation of the Feasibility Study. Three public meetings were held (in Stow, Maynard and Hudson) attracting close to 200 people in total. The study was released in January 1997 and concluded that the ARRT project is feasible and worth pursuing. In the spring of 1998, all five towns (Marlborough, Hudson, Stow, Maynard and Acton) voted to start the first steps of the project.

1992

In 1992, several Hudson residents envisioned a rail trail linking the communities of Marlborough, Hudson, Stow, Maynard and Acton. Following the abandoned Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) rail bed known as the Boston and Maine (B+M) “Marlborough Branch,” a volunteer group consisting of individuals from each of the five communities organized to promote the Assabet River Rail Trail (ARRT) concept.