Hearing On Sudbury Eversource Transmission Line Project Wednesday

SUDBURY, MA — A controversial plan to build a combined rail trail and power transmission corridor through Sudbury will have a public hearing in August as Eversource and the state Department of Conservation and Recreation seek a major stormwater management permit for the project.

Eversource is seeking to build a transmission line from a substation in Sudbury to a Hudson Light & Power Department substation. The line would run through Sudbury along a 4.3-mile former MBTA corridor. DCR would build a new paved rail trail along the corridor on top of the buried transmission line.

Sudbury sued the MBTA in 2017 to stop the project from moving ahead, but that suit was dismissed in 2018. The town filed an appeal in the state Supreme Judicial Court in October.

In December, the state Energy Facilities Siting Board approved the transmission project, despite opposition from Sudbury and Hudson.

The 10-foot-wide rail trail would begin near the intersection of Landham Road and Route 20 and run northwest to Hudson, with a small piece of the trail passing through a portion of Marlborough.

The Sudbury Planning Board will host the Aug. 12 public hearing for the stormwater management permit for the project.