Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (BFRT) is a partially-completed rail trail in Massachusetts. The path is a 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) paved multi-use trail, available for walking, running, biking, rollerblading, and other non-motorized uses. It follows the right-of-way of the disused Framingham and Lowell Line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The constructed route connects with the Bay Circuit Trail, and Phase 2D connects with the Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside. The total planned length of the trail—which will eventually run continuously between Lowell and Framingham—is just under 25 miles (40 km). The trail is named for Bruce Freeman, a state representative from Chelmsford who advocated for the trail in the Massachusetts Legislature in 1985 and 1986 before his death. The trail is owned by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) from Lowell to South Sudbury. MassDOT built the trail and takes care of serious issues. The towns have primary responsibility for maintaining the rail trail, and the 501(c)(3) nonprofit group Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail assists the towns with maintenance.