The 3.5-mile, multiuse and multimodal South Bay Harbor Trail (SBHT) connects the Ruggles MBTA station and the nearby neighborhoods to the Boston Harbor waterfront at Fan Pier.

A corridor survey was prepared which carefully included open space, traffic equipment, private property and public agency concerns in a corridor subject to frequent changes driven by the Central Artery Project. The trail uses existing roadway right of way and Chapter 91 access ways while connecting to many destination points. This includes Ruggles and Broadway T stations, the Crosstown Development, Fan Pier Development, the Children’s Museum and Federal Court House.

Although corridor conditions are extremely urban, designers used established trail design criteria for the length of the trail. This includes novel wayfinding features such as using retired US Coast Guard buoys as guideposts to reflect the coastal nature of the trail, as well as lighting improvements to illuminate the trail using city standard acorn lighting.

This project was awarded the 2023 MassDOT Consultant Project Award.