MARLBOROUGH — When Arthur Vigeant was first elected mayor in November 2011, one of his goals was to have a walking trail around Lake Williams.
Twelve years later, on the eve of his final days as mayor, the new Lake Williams boardwalk was completed. It’s a floating walkway that connects trailheads around the 113-acre lake.
The boardwalk opens to the public this spring.
“We’ve talked about doing this the whole time I was there,” said Vigeant, who decided not to seek reelection for a seventh two-year term last year. “The DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection ) initially said no, but even though we struck out back then, we never lost the idea. We eventually got it done.”
The floating boardwalk is more than 3,000 feet long and about 8 feet wide, according to City Engineer Tom DiPersio. The entire walking trail, including the boardwalk, is now 1.5 miles long, he said.
The idea for the project was inspired by a stone walkway at the DelCarte Open Space Area in Franklin. But Marlborough’s plan to build something similar was deemed too pricey, at about $7 million.