Linear Park, the paved artery that carries walkers, joggers and cyclists between Davis Square and Alewife, has been closed since October 2025 for a renovation that was supposed to wrap up by the end of this year. Instead, Cambridge officials now say the project is on track to reopen the park to the public by the end of December 2026, but construction activities are expected to continue into 2027.
A Path Built for the Red Line Extension
Linear Park’s current design dates to 1985, and it was built above the Red Line extension tunnel to Alewife, according to The Boston Globe. The MBTA granted Cambridge and Somerville easements along the corridor for pedestrians and bicyclists, turning what had been transit right-of-way into a multiuse path through North Cambridge. Decades later, Cambridge moved ahead with a significant overhaul of the aging path.
The project went out to bid in 2025, and the construction contract is now valued at $7.88 million, per the Globe's reporting. That figure sits close to, but not identical to, two other cost estimates that have circulated: Cambridge Day reported an estimated $7.8 million cost in October 2025 based on the contract with West Bridgewater-based D'Allesandro, while an earlier Cambridge Day report from January 2025 described the redesign as a $7.2 million project. Officials have said the overall cost could still increase slightly before the work is finished.
Residents Sued Over Trees, Then Lost
The renovation redesigns and reconstructs a half-mile stretch of the 35-year-old park between Russell Field and the Cambridge-Somerville line, covering less than a mile of path and park space in total. Local residents concerned about irreparable damage to old trees filed a lawsuit in August 2025 to stop the project, and the same Cambridge Day report noted that residents filed their complaint on August 6 and won a temporary restraining order on August 13. A Middlesex Superior Court judge ruled against that restraining order on September 19, allowing the project to move forward.
Tree concerns had been building for months before the lawsuit. Cambridge's 12-person Committee on Public Planting warned in a report dated December 20 that the planned path widening would “significantly increase pavement at the expense of existing trees” and posed “a clear threat to the health and longevity of existing mature trees,” the committee said, according to the same Cambridge Day account. The redesign calls for widening a path that now averages 10.5 to 11 feet across to as much as 14 feet in places. The city's plan reportedly calls for removing just five deteriorated cherry trees, replacing them along with more than 100 other new trees.
Why the Work Is Moving Slowly
Cambridge is trying to build close to existing trees it wants to keep alive and healthy, which complicates the construction timeline.
The finished park is expected to include new irrigation, lighting, benches, public art, play spaces, drinking fountains and emergency call boxes.
Detours Frustrate Commuters and Joggers
The closure has rippled out to roughly 1,500 daily users of the path, about a third of them bicyclists, based on figures cited by Cambridge Day. Detour routes between Mass. Ave. and Alewife now send pedestrians and cyclists through Harvey, Clifton and Dudley streets. A Cambridge city councilor has said residents worry about safety and increased traffic along those detours and have called for safe, clearly marked, high-quality alternatives for pedestrians and cyclists, per the same outlet's coverage.
A pre-construction report from Streetsblog Massachusetts had anticipated the work would wrap up sometime in spring 2026, well ahead of the December 31, 2026 completion date written into the construction contract. Another report described the contract as covering renovations lasting up to 14 months.
