Nearly $300K in state funding awarded to Tri-Town bike paths

Two Tri-Town trail projects are receiving substantial infusions of state money.

Collectively, nearly $300,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation is coming to bike paths in Mattapoisett and Marion, according to announcements from state officials.

In Mattapoisett, $202,325 will go towards completing the town’s bike path — the rail trail — as part of the MassTrails grant program, according to a release from 10th Bristol Representative Bill Straus.

“Money talks, and the more money we can get, the faster this project gets done,” said Renee Pothier, president of Friends of the Mattapoisett Rail Trail.

That money will be used to fill a gap in the bike path between Depot Street and Industrial Drive, according to Pothier.

The grant funding will allow the project’s engineering firm — Pare Corporation — to complete a design for the phase to fill in the trail gap, which spans about a mile, according to Pothier.

Filling in that gap will take bicyclists off the “very dangerous” stretch of Route 6 and North Street — the goal being to get off North Street as much as possible, Pothier said.

The Friends of the Mattapoisett Rail Trail — “very supportive of the town doing the work” to get the grant — will be matching the award to an amount of about $50,000, according to Pothier.

“It just gets us that much closer to getting this project done,” she said.

Friends of the Mattapoisett Rail Trail board member Bonne DeSousa said the grant keeps “up the momentum.”

The round of MassTrails grant funding also awarded $96,000 to Marion for the town’s shared-use path, a project to construct a walking and biking trail running from the Mattapoisett town line to Point Road. The award also has a local match of $24,000.

“I think it’s really important that we’re advancing together,” DeSousa said.

That funding will be used for the appraisal and purchase of easements, according to a release from state Senator Marc Pacheco. 

John Rockwell, chair of the Marion Pathways Committee, said most of those easements are for the construction of the shared-use path.

“This is a good thing,” Rockwell said. “We’re thankful to the Commonwealth for doing it.”

Construction of the 3.8-mile project is expected to begin in fall 2025, according to Pacheco’s office. 

“We’re just plugging away,” Rockwell said.

During the summer, the project is working through the state permitting process, expected to be completed this year, according to Rockwell.