May 6, 2008:  The Stow Town meeting voted overwhelming in favor of the last piece of the 'Track Road' easement purchase after much discussion. A counter amendment to prevent paving the future bike trail (in Stow) was defeated. When combined with the section acquired in 2004, the town now has access to the entire 1.7 miles between Sudbury Road and the Stow-Maynard town line, the longest uninterupted segment in the 12.5 mile, five-community rail trail. The next step is for Stow and the Commonwealth to apply for the funding to design and build this section of the trail.

Febuary 15, 2008:  Patrick Administration Awards Smart Growth/Smart Energy Grant to Stow. Seven grant recipients announced today include Stow; $19,500 for appraisals and engineering at the Lundy Property, which includes cluster affordable housing, land conservation and a bypass for the Assabet River Rail Trail.
A map of the property is here.

December 27, 2007:  The ARRT can now accept donations and membership dues online. We are using the GuideStar-Network for Good system. More details and the payment link are here.

September 29, 2007: ARRT volunteers and the Hudson DPW have started to install a 1906 RR switch next to the Hudson caboose. It will be the first piece at 'ARRT Park'. Also planned are 4 interpretive panels and a RR sign. More pictures are in the volunteers gallery.

July 14, 2007:  At a June 25th public hearing, BSC TerraSphere presented their recommendations for the design of the pedestrian bridge and approach ramps needed to cross the MBTA tracks at South Acton village. A rendering of the south ramp design is pictured below. The complete presentation is on the town website as a 6 MB pdf.

April 30, 2007:  Due to the construction of the Main Street Bridge, starting Monday, April 30, 2007, MassHighway will close a portion of the Assabet River Rail Trail in Hudson from approximately Priest Street in front of Hudson Dairy Joy to a point east of the existing Main Street Bridge across from the Whispering Pines Condominium. Neither the trail nor sidewalk in this area will be accessible to pedestrians or bicycles until further notice. [ MAP ]

March 1, 2007:  Six engineering firms submitted bids for the Acton-Maynard trail design project on the March 1st deadline. It is expected that the contract will be awarded by the end of April.

January 31, 2007:  Acton has received a Massachusetts Downtown Initiative (MDI) Program grant to help with the preliminary ("10%") design study of how the trail will cross over the MBTA tracks at the South Acton train station. Other funding support comes from Acton's ARRT CPA funds. BSC/TerraSphere is the design consultant and will be presenting the 3 best options at a public hearing sometime around April.
 
The next ARRT monthly meeting is 7:00 PM Thursday, May 22 at the Maynard Library.

Monthly ARRT meetings are open to the public. Anyone interested in our activities are invited to attend. Meetings are usually finished by 9:00 PM. The complete ARRT calendar is here.
October 16, 2007: The Towns of Acton and Maynard held a joint public meeting at Acton Town Hall to review conceptual design proposals and options for the Assabet River Rail Trail along its route from Maynard's town line with Stow to the train station in South Acton and to hear and receive comments from prospective trail users, abutters, and others.

The 10% design plans are available here.
July 12, 2007:  The Commonwealth has released the draft 2008-2011 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). This is the document that prioritizes all highway and bike trail projects in greater Boston. The money for the construction of the trail in Acton and Maynard remains in the Fiscal 2010 budget and has been increased by $350,000. The total is now $4.7 million.

May 25, 2007:  The towns of Acton and Maynard have announced that the Concord based engineering firm EarthTech, will do the 100% design of the 3.45 miles in Acton & Maynard. They were the winning bidder of the 6 firms that submitted proposals on March 1st. Design work will start by mid-summer and finish in 2008.

April 29, 2007:  The ARRT caboose was open to the public for the first time, as the premier attraction at the first annual Hudson Fresh Air Festival.

February 3, 2007:  The Town of Hudson is started fundraising for new bike racks around town. More details are here.

January 25, 2007:  The RFP (Request for Proposals) for the 100% design of the Acton-Maynard ARRT project was posted on the state web site. A meeting for prospective bidders was well attended and the preliminary bids are due March 1st.