BLACKSTONE RIVER
ROUTE 146 CONNECTOR LETTERBOX:
MILLBURY, MASSACHUSETTS
-BIKE IT OR HIKE IT-
Planted: June 22, 2005
Length: Millbury Street Bridge to McCracken Road parking lot; 2.3 miles
McCracken Road parking lot to Letterbox; 0.7 miles
Millbury Street parking lot to Letterbox; 0.8 miles
Difficulty: Moderate. Paved trail, but hilly.
Directions:
To start from the McCracken Road parking lot; From I-90, take exit 10A. Take Route 146 south to the Route 122A exit. Turn right at the end of the ramp head east on McCracken Road to the parking lot which is located just down from the exit ramp on your right. Coming from Route 146 northbound, take the Route 122A exit. Turn right at the end of the ramp and the parking lot is located on your right.
To start from the Millbury Street parking lot; From I-90, take exit 10A. Take Route 146 north to the Ballard Street/Millbury Street exit and head south down Millbury Street. The parking lot is located on your right, across from Cliff Street.
The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a special type of National Park. It is a region that covers nearly 400,000 acres located from Worcester County in Massachusetts down to Providence County in Rhode Island. The Federal government does not own or manage the land, instead, along with the two state governments, local municipalities, businesses and many local organizations, they work to protect the Valley’s special identity. A planned Bikeway will stretch from Worcester to Providence inside this corridor. This is the first completed section in Massachusetts, while Rhode Island has already completed 6.5 miles from Manville to Lonsdale. See; Blackstone River North Letterbox and Blackstone River Canal South Letterbox. For more information visit; BLACKSTON RIVER BIKEWAY .
Starting from the McCracken Road parking lot; The trail currently only heads north, so cross over the off-ramp for Route 146. A cross light has been installed. Travel across Route 146 via the separate bridge that has been attached to the auto bridge. Notice the bridges color scheme of purple. All along this trail, the bridges have a color scheme and some interesting iron work. The trail takes you underneath the auto bridge and alongside the Blackstone River. On your right is where the old McCracken Bridge used to cross the river. A new blue access bridge is now in its place. A blue metal fence guides you between the river on your right and the railroad tracks to your left. Next, you'll cross over a tributary flowing into the river via two blue painted trestle bridges at a 1/2 mile. An active railroad bridge crosses here as well on your left. Just shy of 3/4 miles you will come to a blue trestle bridge over the river. Before you cross it, walk left down the bank to a metal fence. Follow this fence right to where it ends and spot an Oak tree here. From the backside of this tree, facing the railroad tracks, take a compass reading of 260 degrees. This should point you to the high point in a stone wall, just left of another Oak tree. There are some old railroad ties on top of the wall (Note; they may get removed at some future time, so don't panic if you don't see them). In the middle of the wall, remove the 2 flat rocks on end to reveal the Blackstone River; Route 146 Connector Letterbox. Cross over the bridge which was constructed in 1887, although I don't know if it's original to here. Next you cross underneath I-90 and then a second overpass just shy of a mile, where the trail takes you down next to the river. Notice that the overpass bridges are now green. If you look left you can see the large rail yard for the Providence & Worcester Railroad. After crossing under another overpass, you come to a spur trail at 1 1/4 miles. Right takes you up to Route 20 east, where the trail stops, but you want to continue straight. You'll cross over a boundary marker separating Millbury and Worchester. Another spur trail on your right takes you up to Route 20 west, but again, you continue straight. You'll reach the Millbury Road parking lot at 1 1/2 miles. Next you'll cross a green iron bridge over some wetlands and follow a nice wooden fence with the Blackstone River on your left. After crossing underneath Route 146, the trail then parallels Route 146 on the right and railroad tracks to your left.. This area is full of wildflowers and other plantings. Again, you pass below an overpass right next to the river and come alongside a railroad siding. Finally, you pass beneath the Millbury Street Bridge, at which point the trail turns right and brings you up to the top of this bridge at 2.3 miles. The trail currently ends here. Sidewalks and crosswalks lead to the surrounding neighborhoods.
HH
LETTERBOX LAST VERIFIED ON
MARCH 8, 2009
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BIKE IT OR HIKE IT LETTERBOXING
