A group of Northborough residents has submitted a $600,000 plan to the town's Community Preservation Committee that would refurbish and reopen the Assabet Aqueduct Bridge, a 330-foot-long, 30-foot-high structure with seven arches that has sat closed to the public since 1990. The proposal calls for new railings, utility work, a boardwalk-style deck and a contingency fund, with the hope that a state grant could cover the bulk of the cost.
According to Community Advocate, the preliminary budget breaks down to roughly $60,000 for the boardwalk deck, $220,000 for railings, $80,000 for utilities and $100,000 set aside for contingency. The Aqueduct Bridge Committee has requested $500,000 in Community Preservation Committee funds, though the outlet notes that figure may still change as the process moves forward.
Supporters are also eyeing a MassTrails grant that could provide up to $500,000 toward the project, which would require $100,000 in matching funds, the same report states. The Community Preservation Committee discussed the application on Thursday and is expected to keep weighing its merits over the coming months, with the possibility that the matter could also come before town meeting.
A Bridge Frozen in Time Since 1990
Built in 1898, the Assabet Aqueduct Bridge has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1990, the same year it closed to foot traffic, the station's report notes. Today the structure is managed by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and shows the wear of decades of disuse, with overgrown vegetation, low-hanging overhead utilities and cracks across its surface, per the same account.
The push to reopen the span isn't new. The Northborough Trails Committee has spent more than half a decade working with the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority to open the aqueduct to pedestrians, according to an earlier Community Advocate report. The town's first historic preservation plan also lists reopening the Wachusett Aqueduct for pedestrian access over the Assabet River as a stated goal, per northboroughma.gov.
Cost Estimates Have Moved Over Time
Cost projections for the project have varied. An earlier estimate put the work at $2 million, while a preliminary design reported in October by Citizen Portal pegged the project at about $2.2 million, a figure that account says included ADA ramps and mitigation for high-tension wires along with MWRA restrictions.
Earlier cost figures for aqueduct-related trail work have also shifted over the years. Back in 2022, the cost of designing and beginning construction on a pedestrian-friendly walkway was estimated at just $133,658, the earlier Community Advocate piece notes, while Northborough's Community Preservation Committee minutes from 2023 reference a $100,000 Aqueduct Multi Use Trail Feasibility Study, according to town records posted on northboroughma.gov.
What the Reopened Bridge Would Mean for Trail Users
Beyond railings and decking, the current plan envisions planters, benches built from granite reclaimed from the structure itself, and an overall boardwalk-like design intended to preserve the bridge's historic character while minimizing permanent alterations. Northborough trail advocates view the aqueduct as a major roadblock in the local trail network, and backers say reopening it would complete a missing link while improving connections to regional trails.
Public access to the aqueduct corridor itself has technically been allowed in Northborough since 2013, when the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority issued a public access permit, according to a separate Community Advocate account. But the bridge path has remained the sticking point, closed to the pedestrian and bicycle traffic that the new proposal is designed to finally restore.
