About a dozen volunteers and employees of the Fall River Department of Community Maintenance joined forces on May 7, 2017 for the first clean-up of the new recreation area in the center of Fall River. Work on the Quequechan River Rail Trail Project is on track for completion in the summer of 2016. Dedicated to Fall River resident, local historian and retired city planner Al Lima, work continues on the final two stages of the current path that begins at the Westport Town line along South Watuppa Pond. The project has constructed a bicycle and walking path that runs over a former railroad bed to connect with Britland Park and Rodman Street. The rail trail project was funded by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and by the Gateway City Park Program of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. The project follows a plan for a Quequechan River Greenway that includes improvements to Britland Park as well. Plans were first presented in April, 2011 and reviewed in 2012 along with other efforts to make Fall River more bicycle-friendly. Click here for a four-minute video of the clean-up. Click here for earlier photos of the tunnels and here for views in October 2015. For more information about the project, contact Fall River Mass In Motion coordinator Julianne Kelly, at 508-324-2405

(Top row) Fall River Mass In Motion Coordinator Julianne Kelly stands at the Rodman Street entrance to the Rail Trail that leads to Quequechan Street. (Row two) Julie talks with volunteers Judy Bento and Carolyn Suneson before they head down the trail to clear an area on the other side of the Route 195 tunnel leading to the Trail. (Row three) Canada geese and other birds are common along the River. (Row four) Fall River Department of Community Maintenance Employee Anthony Robinson works with a crew of volunteers to pull brush and trash out of the River's edge. (Row five) Volunteers Norbert Farias, Trott Joseph Lee, David Frederick and John Mary work on clearing brush and trash along the trail in Britland Park. (Row six) B.M.C. Durfee High School Students Kai Uehara and Madison Zenni join Bike Fall River Committee Member Bruce Souza in clearing brush and trash. (Bottom row) Volunteers Richard Lemay and William Gajda pull out more trash, and John Mary and David Frederick discover some wild onions growing near the River.