Linden Street railroad bridge may be restored by end of 2025

Plans for restoring the historic Linden Street railroad bridge are slowly coming to fruition. 

Once the project is finished, the bridge will connect two portions of the Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) in Waltham. 

The trail is blocked off on both sides of the bridge. Bikers and pedestrians have been forced to exit the trail via a makeshift wooden ramp and cross Linden Street to reach the other side.

The restoration of the bridge is one of the final projects that needs to be done to complete Waltham’s portion of the MCRT.

The MCRT is a multi-use trail being built along the former Massachusetts Central Railroad. Once it is finished, it will stretch 104 miles from Boston to Northampton. 

Waltham’s portion of the trail sits between Belmont and Weston. Most of the trail has been completed. The stretch running from Linden Street to 1265 Main St. is more than two miles long. The city, which paid for and constructed that bit, opened it on Nov. 12, 2024.

The other side of the trail, which runs just under a mile from the bridge to near 117 Beaver St., was also paved. However, the bridge has been blocked off because it was condemned, and it is unsafe and impassable even to foot traffic. 

That is set to change, with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) taking the lead on rebuilding the bridge.

Construction will take place under the bridge to upgrade and repair its structure. 

However, DCR must get approval for its repair plans before any work starts. The $2 million restoration will be completed through a contract with the Kodiak Corp., a Lawrence, Massachusetts-based construction company. 

The contract states that all work must be finished by Dec. 3, 2026, although DCR told The Waltham Times that the project is expected to be completed by either summer or fall of this year.

According to a DCR spokesperson, funds from the American Rescue Plan Act will bankroll the project.

Historical significance

The Linden Street bridge is more than just a connection within the MCRT, it’s also a historical landmark.

The bridge spans 92 feet in length and sits 20 feet above Linden Street. A lattice structure made of steel beams, now caked with rust, surrounds the sides and top of the bridge.

The first bridge across Linden Street was built in 1881, but it’s unclear who the original architects were. 

In 1894, the Pennsylvania Steel Company built a new bridge across Linden Street. They added the lattice structure to accommodate an increase in traffic on the railroad line.

The railroad changed ownership numerous times. Passenger services for the rail line were shut down in 1975 by the MBTA.

But the bridge persisted, getting added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. 

Now, if everything goes to plan, the bridge will continue to serve as a center for transportation, only this time with bikes and pedestrians.