Prolonged closure of the Linden Street bridge impacts cyclists, pedestrians
Weather permitting, Leandro Alonso bikes from his house in Waltham to Wayland every day.
In Waltham, he rides along the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail. The nearly 3-mile-long section running through the city is a resource for both pedestrians and bikers.
For Alonso, the MCRT plays a crucial role in maintaining his physical health and fitness. The 12-mile ride is his main form of daily exercise.
However, prolonged closure of a key connection along the trail, the Linden Street bridge, poses challenges for both cyclists and walkers, according to Alonso.
“I have to bike about 2 miles on Main Street, biking in traffic,” he said. “I see other bikers also taking the same detour because of the bridge.”
In 2023 the state closed an accessibility ramp installed at the Linden Street bridge soon after opening the trail because it led to the dilapidated bridge, creating a safety risk, according to a Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation spokesperson.
Construction to rehabilitate the bridge began early this year. The contract, between DCR and Lawrence-based construction company Kodiak Corp., requires completion by Dec. 3, 2026.
Jimmy Becker, a longtime Waltham resident, said the closure of the accessibility ramp interrupts his daily walks on the MCRT.
“It just feels like a big waste of money. It doesn’t feel like there’s any progress, so it just makes it less valuable because you can’t get from one end to the other,” Becker said.
The estimated cost of integrating the Linden Street bridge into the MCRT, according to a DCR spokesperson, is approximately $1.8 million.
Despite DCR’s attempts to mitigate risks created by the bridge, closing off accessibility during construction is generating new safety hazards for cyclists and drivers alike.
Drivers, Alonso said, aren’t used to an increased number of cyclists on main roads.
“You’re risking your life all the time, and that of the drivers, too, because they go out of their way to dodge bikers,” he said.
While Alonso said he hasn’t gotten hurt making the detour on his daily ride, it is less than ideal for everyone involved, especially when it comes to interrupting the flow of traffic.
“The drivers are not happy because they have to stop,” he said. “People are super polite and respectful in general, but you can tell that they are not happy and neither am I.”
Share anonymous news tips
You can leave a news tip anonymously, but if you would like us to follow up with you, please include your contact information
Author
Comments (4)
Comments are closed.
The story is really the mismanagement and incompetency of whomever decided it was a good idea to spend a bunch of money to build the “accessibility ramp” and then decided it was a good idea to block it off. This deservedly gives “good government” a bad rap. Why build it if you’re not gonna allow anyone to use it? Why build the trail if you cannot connect it? Is anyone awake at City Hall?
How is this a news story? It reads like a personal rant.
Is there a connection between the author of the article and the biker.
The city and state are doing all they can to keep the trail safe.
It is absolutely wonderful that the City of Waltham paid for the main MCRT-Wayside build in Waltham which finished in 2023. However, this article is missing a full explanation of why the Linden Street Bridge has taken so long to complete.
In 2022 and 2023, Waltham applied for and received MassTrails grants, both for *construction* of the Linden Street Bridge. All MassTrails grants are reimbursement, *matching* grants. Waltham never actually matched the funding as required under the terms of the grants (and of course were therefore reimbursed nothing). That’s the reason DCR realized it must take action and fund 100% of the construction, and the reason the Linden Street bridge was not finished several years ago. Waltham misled Massachusetts that Waltham would help share this cost.
There’s an OK detour from the closed accessibility ramp at the Linden Street Bridge to the Rail Trail. Linden Street is wide, easy bicycling, and pedestrians have a sidewalk. Head toward Main Street past the storage lockers and turn right into the first driveway into Garden Crest. This leads directly to the trail, which goes all the way up to Hillside Road, just short of Route 128.
I find it more annoying that there used to be a detour to the trail segment between the bridge and Beaver Street by going past the businesses on the other side of the bridge (with the “bottle and can return” sign). Construction crews regularly took a ramp up to the trail, but the DCR in its purported wisdom installed a fence next to the trail. Able-bodied pedestrians can climb over the fence, but lifting a bicycle over it is a chore. The alternative is to ride up Linden Street and Waverly Oaks Road — which is also wide, but Beaver Street is narrow where it crosses the Fitchburg Line railroad tracks. My tactic is to cut through the American Legion parking lot on the corner, wait till the traffic light at Waverly and Beaver stops traffic, and then speed down the hill past the tracks. Similarly in the other direction with a left turn into the parking lot.