Concept Plan

The Riverwalk will be accessible at several points along its 1.25-mile loop but, using Fort Andross in Brunswick as an arbitrary starting point, the concept plan developed in collaboration by the Riverwalk Advisory Committee and landscape architect Anthony Muench is as follows:

Cabot Street, which runs through the current parking area in front of Fort Andross (click here for map) will be improved with a wider sidewalk to accommodate wheelchairs, improved lighting, and banners or other signage to mark the route of the Riverwalk. 

From Cabot Street, the Riverwalk will intersect Mill Street at the end of Bow Street and follow a new path close to the river, separated from Mill Street traffic by a safety buffer. 

Sections of the path, which will meander along the Androscoggin River, will be cantilevered because of the steep slope of the river bank.

In the NorthWest Brunswick neighborhood, the Riverwalk will pass through the new park at the foot of Cushing Street (with parking available) and cross the historic Androscoggin Swinging Bridge.

Crossing the Androscoggin River on the pedestrian bridge, the Riverwalk enters Topsham Heights, which also has a new park and parking area for visitors to the Swinging Bridge and Riverwalk.

The Riverwalk then enters a densely wooded area of Topsham, following a “paper street” known as Mill Road. Clearings in the trees provide stunning views of the river and Brunswick on the other side.

Emerging from the woods, the Riverwalk approaches Summer Street across a flat grassy plain.  The sloped path to Summer Street will be graded to make it ADA-compliant.

The Summer Street sidewalk will be extended to meet the Riverwalk to ensure safe pedestrian passage along the curving road that takes the Riverwalk to Topsham Lower Village.  

The ADA-compliant route will follow the Summer Street sidewalk around the back of the Border Trust Business Center to the intersection of Main Street.  An alternative route will follow the river bank and end at several steps leading up to Main Street and the Frank Wood (“Green”) Bridge.

From Main Street in Topsham, the Riverwalk will cross the Androscoggin on the Green Bridge to Maine Street in Brunswick.  The sidewalk on Maine Street along the side of Fort Andross will be improved to include a safety buffer, perhaps bollards, to protect pedestrians from traffic.  At Maine & Cabot Streets in front of Fort Andross, the 1.25-mile Riverwalk loop will be complete.