Framingham Was Ineligible For Federal Cash To Buy Rail Trial Land

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham's recently requested — and was denied — $5 million from the federal government to buy a stretch of former railway to create a leg of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (BFRT).

The reason for the denial, according to federal rules: Framingham applied for the money through a federal program that can't really be used to buy land.

The request was made earlier this spring through U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark via the federal Community Project Funding (CPF) program. The CPF allows federal lawmakers to earmark money for local projects through the federal budget process. The CPF program was only revived this year follow a moratorium put in place in 2011.

Under CPF rules, earmarks can only be used to acquire land under a few specific circumstances, and none appear to fit Framingham's request: for Department of Housing and Urban Development projects; land or water that would be under control of the Department of the Interior branches like the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management; and to construct U.S. Department of Agriculture research centers.

The CPF program, federal sources told Patch, is only for shovel-ready projects — and Framingham's leg of the BFRT isn't close to shovel-ready.

When complete, the BFRT will span about 25 miles from Lowell to near Route 9 in Framingham. Right now, the trail is complete about halfway through Concord. There are two separate efforts in Sudbury to complete the rail trail through town, but construction hasn't begun on either one. Sudbury in December shelled out $1.2 million to buy a 1.4-mile stretch of former CSX railway from Route 20 to the Framingham line.

Ultimately, Framingham will be responsible for finding a way to acquire 3-1/2 miles of former CSX railway between Sudbury and Route 9. The city will have to negotiate the price with a subsidiary of CSX.

The CPF process also does not guarantee funding. Clark's office did approve about $16 million in CPF funding requests from across her district (including $220,000 to design and permit a portion of the Chris Walsh Aqueduct Trail, whose land is already publicly owned), but that's just the first step.

CPF requests must be funded through appropriations bills, and Congress has not passed many of those in recent years, mostly opting to pass temporary continuing resolutions to fund government spending. Congress is under pressure to pass a true budget due to elections coming up in 2022.

Framingham would have a chance to reapply for CPF funds for the BFRT before April 2022 if the earmarking program returns.