The trail primarily runs along the
Saugus Branch Railroad, a former branch line of the
Boston and Maine Railroad. The trail's
right of way is leased from the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority for 99 years by the respective cities the trail passes through. Like many nearby rail-trails, these leases include a reversion clause should the right of way be deemed more useful for other transportation uses. Iron Horse Preservation completed the surfacing of the Saugus section of the trail with gravel. The Revere portion of the trail opened to the public with a recycled asphalt surface in Summer 2015. The state committed $1.5 million in February 2018 to complete design of a Lynn section. A $13.7 million construction contract was awarded in February 2020 with the goal of finishing a Lynn portion of the trail, and extending the southern terminus of the trail south through Everett to the Mystic river. The West Lynn section opened on November 19, 2021. Plans presented on November 17, 2021, call for additional expansion of the trail through downtown Lynn to Nahant. A separated / protected trail facility is planned, to run from Western Avenue in Lynn to the Lynn & Nahant shoreline. The state awarded $263,000 for right-of-way acquisition in 2022. ==References==