By Michael Coughlin Jr.
Keeley Fanuele, the executive director of the Friends of the Mary Ellen Welch Greenway, joined the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association’s (JPNA) monthly meeting last week to provide information on renovations that are slated to leave parts of the Greenway closed for what could be an extended period.
The renovations, which according to Fanuele are being conducted by the city and aim to reduce stormwater and coastal flooding, provide cool spots to help mitigate urban heat islands, and promote tree health, are set to take place on the city-owned portion of the Greenway, from Porter to Marginal Street, or more specifically, from “the blue caboose to the dog park.”
“I’m sure many of you know — who use the Greenway — that flooding is a huge issue and has been a huge issue, so that is really the main focus of the project,” said Fanuele.
“They’re going to raise paths in certain areas, they’re going to kind of build boardwalks in other areas with rain gardens underneath…so we’re hoping that it will make a huge improvement.”
Construction, which was initially scheduled to begin in the spring, has been postponed until this fall, potentially around October, according to Fanuele, to allow the area to be used during the summer.
When construction begins, Fanuele said that the entire section, which includes Gove Street Crossing, will be closed for the duration of the project.
“A lot of people have asked, you know, can they close it in sections. They’ve told me they cannot close it in sections, they cannot have the Gove Street Crossing open during the entirety of the construction project,” she said.
Additionally, a detour is being planned, and signage is slated to be provided by the city. Fanuele also noted that City Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata is organizing a community meeting to gather feedback regarding the detour.
As for the duration of the closure, Fanuele said, “It would be October of 2025 until December of 2026. So, apparently, that is a hard stop date that they must be finished for the grant that they received — the city.”
“It could potentially get pushed back, but my understanding is that it must be finished by December 31st of 2026. So, basically, we’re looking at a year and a half.”
JPNA Board Members Andrew Pike and Tyler Lane commented that the aforementioned duration seemed long, to which Fanuele agreed and later indicated she would follow up with the project team to get more information that could be shared at a future JPNA meeting.
It should be noted that the project webpage on the city’s website (https://www.boston.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/project/improvements-mary-ellen-welch-greenway#whos-involved) does not provide a specific projected completion date; instead, it states that the project is expected to be completed in 2026.
However, a presentation slideshow from a meeting in October, found at the link above, contains a timeline that indicates it would open in “late-2026.”
The East Boston Times inquired about the projected completion date with the project manager, Amy Linné. A spokesperson for Boston Parks and Recreation Department, responded via email noting that schedules can change due to unforeseen circumstances but wrote, “we are targeting a construction start in mid-October and completion in late 2026,” adding, “while we were originally planning to start in summer 2025, we received community requests to wait until after this summer to start construction to ensure that the Greenway would only be closed for one summer season.”
In the meantime, Fanuele noted that she is excited about many things happening at the Greenway this summer.
Specifically, plans are in place for events such as concerts and other programming throughout the summer. For more information, visit https://maryellenwelchgreenway.org/.
To stay up to date with everything going on with the Greenway, visit the aforementioned link or follow its social media accounts on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/maryellenwelchgreenway, and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/people/Friends-of-the-Mary-Ellen-Welch-Greenway.