NEWBURYPORT — A real estate developer was scheduled Friday to begin work on Parker Street, installing the city’s final roughly 300 feet of the Clipper City Rail Trail.
Geordie Vining, the city’s special projects manager, said the work represents the “missing link” in a multi-model pathway the city has been building in pieces for well over two decades.
“I’ve been working on these rail trails for 24 years,” he said. “But 2024 looks like the year we’re finally going to see this continuous trail completed. That’s really great.”
Real estate developer Ed Hill has been building the 27-unit Parker Hill Condominiums on Hines Way, located off Parker Street.
As part of the permitting process, Hill agreement to install a 590-foot rail trail connection running west from Oak Hill Cemetery to Shepard’s Auto Center. The special permit allowed Hill to hold off construction of his portion of the rail trail until he got permission (or certificate of occupancy) for people to move into the 15th market rate unit.
In 2022, the developer built about 235 feet of rail trail, from the Newbury town line at the entrance to Oak Hill Cemetery and continuing west.
Hill was prepared to complete the rest of the project in 2023. But he told The Daily News last July, material and subcontractor delays caused him to run into some roadblocks.
On Friday, workers could be seen removing gravel from the area to be able to pave it.
“This section is a little bit more involved, because of the drainage work,” Vining said. “They have to take the drainage swale and essentially put it underground, pipe it and put it underneath the new rail trail. That’s what they’re doing right now.”
The new section should be completely paved by the fall, according to Vining, who said people should be able to safely walk and bike on it soon after that.
“This is definitely a cause for celebration,” he said.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation is also in the midst of finishing up the Newburyport portion of its roughly $17.2 million, seven-mile Route 1 resurfacing project from Newbury to Salisbury, according to Vining.
Once complete, roadwork will connect Newburyport and Newbury by way of the rail trail.
“It’s been a growing concern over the months and years about how popular the rail trail is and public safety concerns about people being pushed into the edge of Parker Street,” Vining said. “So, I think there are a lot of people, including the residents of that development, who are going to be very happy to see this complete.”
Hill did not return a request for comment Friday.