So Near, So Far: Woburn Looks To Bridge Gap At Transit Center

WOBURN, MA — The city’s transit hub tantalizes travelers until they discover: You can’t get there from here. Now that might be changing.

Despite the proximity, pedestrians along New Boston Street can’t reach Anderson Regional Transportation Center without plodding a 2-mile detour around the local train tracks.

The city wants a shortcut, and on Monday issued a $525,000 call for consultants to design a footbridge across the rails at this North Woburn junction. Funds for the planning come from commonwealth's MassWorks infrastructure program, and construction funding is still to be determined.

The bridge would connect a large transportation hub with one of Woburn's fastest-growing neighborhoods.

Neighborhood need

In the past three years, over 1,000 residential units have been built or started in the New Boston Street corridor, according to city documents. A 325,000-square-foot lab building is now planned at 216 New Boston St., and Woburn officials call the area “a key economic engine.”

Meanwhile, the adjacent RTC is bustling, with thousands of passengers there making train and bus connections – local and longer – each day.

The disconnect with New Boston Street isn’t a new issue. Work is already underway on a bridge that might help alleviate the problem.

But that span, north of the RTC, is primarily designed for vehicular traffic and would shorten walks from New Boston Street “marginally,” the city has said. Pedestrians would still need to hoof 1.9 miles.

“A pedestrian bridge linking Anderson RTC to New Boston Street is not just a matter of convenience but a crucial investment in connectivity, safety and economic vitality,” a city planning board memo reads.

Bids on the project are due March 9. For more information about the request-for-proposals, click here.