Border to Boston Trail Committee

Wondering what the Border to Boston Trail project is? Get up to speed on the entire B2B Trail with this excellent story from Streetsblog Mass!

More information can be found about the Border to Boston Trail here, from Essex Heritage:  It is a 70-mile shared-use trail that links approximately 20 communities from the New Hampshire border to Boston for non-motorized uses including walking, bicycling, and more.

For Newbury, this is what you need to know about the B2B... The Border to Boston Committee in Newbury has been active since as early as 2016 up through 2021, with many Newbury residents committed to moving forward the important links of the trail in Newbury. Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic and other staff turn-over at MassDOT, slowed the work, and the committee has been inactive for the last several years. Since 2024, Planning Staff have been working with MassDOT to revive efforts for the Town, and residents (including former committee members, current Open Space & Recreation Committee members, and others) have been engaged in discussions informally. In addition Planning staff have met several times over the past year with the planners in our neighboring towns (Georgetown, Newburyport, and Salisbury) and with the Coastal Trails Coalition, a non-profit organization that has been an instrumental partner in all of the Border to Boston trail projects in the region. Planning Director Kristen Grubbs is also a member of the Merrimack Valley Safe Streets Alliance, a group working on regional trail projects led by the incredible transportation planning team at the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (MVPC). If you haven't seen it, check out the MV Moves Active Transportation Plan which has an amazing online web viewer and an opportunity to provide citizen input on all safe streets and multi-modal trail ideas!

In 2024, with advocacy from the Town, MassDOT restarted efforts on the Border to Boston trail project # 607542 - the Georgetown to Byfield segment. This project segment covers the trail corridor for 3.3 miles: 2.6 miles of off-road shared-use trail, stretching from West Main Street (Route 97) in Georgetown, to the Georgetown-Newbury Town Line, and approximately 0.7 miles between the Town line up until Church Street in Byfield. MassDOT engaged the engineering firm BSC Group to complete several steps: to update the topographic survey, update the Right-of-Way boundary survey, and re-delineate the wetlands boundaries information which had become outdated. This data and a report was then passed back to MassDOT and Stantec, the engineering firm which was previously contracted for the work on this segment.

On May 1, 2025, MassDOT and Stantec staff held a virtual Public Hearing to present the updated 25% preliminary design plans for the Georgetown to Byfield segment. The Public Hearing reviewed construction plans, environmental permitting, and right-of way impacts. Click here for the May 1st Presentation slides. Click here to watch the May 1st Public Hearing Video Recording.

The Public Comment Period for the 25% design plans is still open, and can be submitted to MassDOT using pages 8-9 of the public hearing hand-out. All comments should reference the "Virtual Public Hearing Border to Boston Trail (Northern Georgetown to Byfield Section) - Project File No. 607542" and should be addressed to:  Carrie E. Lavallee, P.E. Chief Engineer, MassDOT Highway Division, 10 Park Plaza Boston, MA 02116-3973

You likely are now wondering about what is going on with the Border to Boston Trail's biggest missing link...  from Byfield to Newburyport! The Town is working with MassDOT and other partners and will soon be releasing an RFQ for consultant support for a Feasibility Study for that segment. We hope that work will kick off in early Fall. It will include summarizing efforts to date, survey work, alignment feasibility and preferred alternatives, and will certainly include a big component of community engagement. Stay tuned!

If you have any questions or are interested in being involved please contact Kristen Grubbs, Planning Director, or reach out to the Select Board.