We recently took a short walk across the Wellesley-Newton DCR bridge linking Washington Street in Wellesley with Concord Street in Newton, and noticed that the flower boxes had been freshened up by volunteers of the Waterstone senior independent living residences. The results of the eight boxes packed with geraniums and petunias give the DCR pedestrians-only bridge a tended look, enjoyed by all who make the short jaunt between the two towns.

The bridge looks good now, but about a decade ago, the crossing over the former railway was treacherous. If Romeo from Newton wanted to see Juliet from Wellesley, it was either swim the Charles or take his chances on the punky wood of the old tracks.

Here’s what the bridge looked like in 2011, before a renovation project. As my co-editor Bob Brown posted at that time, “Not since the Chunnel connected England and France in 1994 has a project emerged that has the capacity to link two previously disconnected peoples.”

Waterstone path, Wellesley — Access the Wellesley-Newton DCR bridge via Washington Street, to the right of CVS front entrance.

Waterstone, Wellesley — The path continues on past Waterstone

Charles River bridge, near Waterstone, Wellesley — The surface of the ADA compliant Charles River Bridge, formerly train tracks, is crushed stone at the start and finish, and wood in the middle.

Charles River bridge, Wellesley, flower boxes — There are eight of these boxes—four on either side of the Charles River bridge. The Wellesley Trails Committee installed the boxes in 2021.

flower boxes lower falls bridge wellesley trails — Flower boxes installation, a work in progress. 2021

Once we crossed the bridge, it seemed like a good idea to cross Concord Street and see how Newton was getting along. Newton was doing quite well, thank you, so we popped over to Weston and paid a call on the Leo J. Martin Golf Course. The entire walk, round trip, was about 1.5 miles