The state plans to complete repair work to the existing Neponset Greenway trail between Cedar Grove station and Granite Avenue this spring. It will remain closed through the end of June, according to DCR spokesman Bill Hickey. Detour signs direct trail users to use local streets instead.
The state will brief local residents next week about the planned expansion of the Neponset Greenway into Mattapan and Milton. Crews are set to begin construction later this month on “missing link” segments of the riverside trail.

A community meeting will be held on Mon., April 13, at 7 p.m. at the Foley Senior Residences on River Street in Mattapan where the Department of Conservation and Recreation will offer details of the construction process to the community, said DCR spokesperson Bill Hickey.

Officials expect that the construction on the 1.3 mile link between Mattapan Square and Milton’s Central Avenue will take approximately 18 months and cost $14 million.

The link will feature a “canopy walk” over the trolley tracks in Mattapan, a new “arched bridge” over the river, several small footbridges, bicycle racks, and benches, among other features, according to DCR. It will also be accessible to users of all ages and abilities.

A section of the Neponset Greenway at Granite Avenue, south of the Cedar Grove Cemetery, will be repaired this spring, Hickey said. That stretch will be open to the public again on June 30.

Phase One of construction is scheduled to be finished by the summer of 2016 with further work and improvements to be done over the next two years, including upgrades at the old Shaffer Paper site in Port Norfolk.

The final “missing link” in the Greenway will run north from Port Norfolk to Victory Road and extend around the iconic gas tank in Dorchester Bay, where it will connect with the existing Harbor Walk.