Historic plaque describing Marble family homestead, in what was part of Stow, before Maynard became a town. |
Progress on the Maynard & Acton section of the Assabet
River Rail Trail has reached the point where it is easier to write about what
is not completed versus progress of the trail as a whole.
The original plan called for ARRT’s completion in May.
Construction will now continue into July, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to be
scheduled soon after. Nice to think that people will be able to walk or ride to
the event. The major delay was the discovery of serious soil pollution behind
the automobile and motorcycle shops just north of Concord Street. This was old
dumping, from businesses long gone. Remediating the problem required an
additional $600,000 of state and federal funding to remove hundreds of cubic
yards of contaminated soil and water. There have also been lesser delays in
Maynard and Acton, all soon to be history.
Maynard, MA: mile marker for Assabet River Rail Trail |
Acton, MA: mile marker for Assabet River Rail Trail |
Mileage markers are in place. Maynard’s start at the
Stow/Maynard border (White Pond Road), at 0.0 miles. Touch the stones for a
surprise – granite, but clear-coated with some type of rubbery-feeling
substance. For the numerically compulsive there are markers every quarter mile,
so that the last in Maynard reads 2.25. And then, 100 yards farther is the
Maynard/Acton border with a 0.0 stone to indicate the start of the Acton
section. The northernmost Acton stone indicates 1.0 miles. Overall length 3.4
miles.
Completion of the trail in Acton and Maynard, added to the Marlborough and Hudson work finished years ago, leaves Stow unfinished as a future project with no date set yet.
Completion of the trail in Acton and Maynard, added to the Marlborough and Hudson work finished years ago, leaves Stow unfinished as a future project with no date set yet.
Each town has installed plaques to indicate historic sites.
Acton: site of a Morocco leather factory. Maynard: Marble family homestead (very
badly overgrown) and the mill complex. In Maynard, choices
of images and wording courtesy of the Maynard Historical Commission. Road
crossing signage and strobe lights have been installed at major roads. Toward
the west end – all completed – Ice House Landing has a parking lot and a kayak
launch dock. On weekends the lot is often full because of the many people who
want to use the trail or the river. In Acton there are parking lots at the end
of Sylvia Street and the north end, near the train station.
Unofficial trash bin next to Trail in Maynard, near Cumberland Farms gas station. (Click to enlarge photos.) |
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