The City Council last week approved the allocation of $500,000 in Community Preservation funds for the completion of the 75% design stage of the Independence Greenway extension.
The allocation, voted on by the Community Preservation Committee, will go toward the Route 1/Lowell Street connection segment of the bike path, Finance Director Mike Gingras told councilors during a meeting of the Finance Committee last Thursday. The extension project will connect disparate segments of the path, including by constructing a pedestrian bridge over Route 1.
Councilors lauded the project, with Ward 2 Councilor Peter McGinn, who chairs the Finance Committee, calling it “transformational” for the city.
“Major expansion of the bikeway is something I’m personally very excited about,” he added.
While the city will not pay for the construction costs of the project, it is on the hook for the cost of right-of-way acquisitions along the path of the extension. The $14 million project is funded by the Federal Highway Administration and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, with the FHA paying 80% of the total, and MassDOT paying the other 20%.
The existing greenway is a 6.1-mile multi-use bike path consisting of 4.6 miles of separated multi-use paths and 1.5 miles of on-street paths. The project discussed Tuesday would replace the on-street path with 1.25 miles of separated multi-use paths, including a pair of bridges over Route 1 and Proctor Brook.
The path comprises three main segments: the first from Lt. Ross Park to Lowell Street, the second from the Route 1 ramp to Bourbon Street, and the final from Lowell Street to Peabody Road. The project would unite those disparate segments into one united path.
To do so, officials propose the construction of the new 1.25-mile stretch, which would vary between 10 and 12 feet in width with two-foot gravel shoulders. The project would also feature a revised lane configuration on Lowell Street, including signal-timing optimization and a pedestrian bridge over Proctor Brook, in addition to the bridge over Route 1.
The project would also see a number of improvements made along Lowell Street, not just the signal-timing optimization and revised lane configuration but also signalized pedestrian crosswalks and a widened traffic island.
Under current design plans for the project, Peabody would need to acquire eight permanent easements, six temporary easements, and one fee acquisition. The city is responsible for contacting affected property owners, who are entitled to an appraisal and just compensation under state law.
