The Weir Street Tunnel is a passage behind the Union Block apartments that links Weir Street to Allans Avenue and the municipal parking area behind City Hall. Now the city says it has the money to renovate it.
The City of Taunton, working with the Taunton Business Improvement District, has been awarded an $83,000 state grant through the Massachusetts Downtown Initiative Capital Program to renovate the tunnel into a safe, accessible route for foot traffic, according to the City of Taunton. The award was among a batch of state economic development grants announced by Gov. Maura Healey this month. The Taunton Daily Gazette reported that the tunnel needs a makeover and is slated for renovation.
The tunnel grant is not a standalone award. It is one piece of a larger $328,000 state funding package Taunton received under the FY27 Community One Stop for Growth program, which also directs $150,000 toward Bay and Whittenton street infrastructure, $50,000 for vacant storefronts, and $45,000 for environmental assessments on Broadway, per the same city announcement. City officials have said they have prioritized competitive grant applications specifically to limit the burden on local taxpayers.
Why Foot Traffic Behind Union Block Has Surged
Part of the reason the tunnel has become a pinch point traces back to what is happening directly above and around it. The landmark Union Block building at 17 Main Street, dating to the 1860s, completed a $28 million to $29 million historic adaptive reuse in 2024, according to NOAH, the nonprofit housing developer that led the project.
The finished Union Block building has 38 mixed-income housing units and nine ground-floor commercial businesses; Peabody Properties manages it.
The tunnel also feeds directly into the parking area behind Taunton City Hall at 15 Summer Street, which reopened in October 2020 after a decade-long restoration following a 2010 arson fire. That reopening brought a major return of administrative foot traffic downtown, with rear municipal lots reachable via Allans Avenue and Weir Street, per the City of Taunton.
A Multi-Year Push to Rework Weir Street
A $250,000 state grant funded sidewalk upgrades along Weir Street from Taunton Green to High Street, a project linked to the Union Block redevelopment, according to the city. A $400,000 grant funded Weir Street improvements.
The Downtown Taunton Business Improvement District lists Galligan's Court as a lot with an entrance on Weir Street, and downtown parking meters are enforced weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tunnel Sits on a Future Regional Trail Route
Plans call for sidewalk and bicycle improvements on Weir Street; the tunnel is also slated for renovation.
