|
Bike path to nowhere going somewhere |
|
|
Sunday, 28 September 2008 |
By JOSEPH B. NADEAU
WOONSOCKET — It’s still a construction zone but the city’s section of the Blackstone Valley Bikeway now has a destination — Manville.
Workers for Lucena Brothers of Cumberland, state contractor on the project, have cut the new pathway from River’s Edge Recreational Complex through the woods to the dead end of the Lincoln portion of the bikeway near the Woonsocket water treatment plant on Manville Road.
“It’s going to connect the southern end of the bike path to the northern section in Woonsocket,” Lambri Zerva, a DOT civil engineer, said of the ongoing project Thursday.
Lucena Brothers won a $571,149 contract to connect about a mile of bike path constructed along with the Rivers’ Edge complex to the rest of the bike path running to near Cumberland Town Hall.
Once the connection is made, cyclists, in-line skaters, runners and walkers will be able to set out from the River’s Edge parking lot on Davison Street on a route continuing for 11.6 miles through Lincoln and Cumberland, Zerva said.
With the work done to date, it is possible the new addition could even open by the end of fall, he noted.
“We all want to see it done quickly. That’s how we are on every project,” Zerva said.
To make that goal, Lucena will have to benefit from a bit of mild weather, according to Zerva.
The company has already removed trees that were growing along the 10- to 14-foot-wide path and has also completed a rough grading of its 2,000-foot run to the water treatment plant.
The company still needs to complete a final grading of the route and will also have to bring in some base fill before the paving work can begin.
The new section runs below the Providence-Worcester Railroad line and rises to meet it near the treatment plant’s access road.
A fence will be installed on the railroad side of the path and a split-wood railing along the opposite side of the path above downslope sections of the route.
While just under four-tenths of a mile in total, the addition will give Woonsocket residents access to a stunningly beautiful section of the Blackstone River and its wetlands long hidden by dense growth in the past.
The section of bike path passes through a tiny corner of North Smithfield before entering Manville and wanders along a surviving portion of the old Blackstone Canal route to Woonsocket. The hardwood trees in the area are already showing a tinge of fall color in their leaves as a preview of the bright changes just ahead.
Once the Woonsocket connection is made, Zerva said city residents will also be able to use the bike path as a travel route as just as residents of Cumberland and Lincoln are doing along existing sections of the bikeway in those communities.
“It’s intended to be used as an alternative means of transportation,” Zerva said while noting some residents use the bike path as a alternative to high traffic roads in Cumberland and Lincoln .
“People have used the bike path as a way to go from one place to another,” Zerva said while noting the path does provide a direct route through several villages along the Blackstone River in those communities.
People can also use the path to ride their bikes to Route 116 and follow that roadway to access Mendon Road businesses or head in the opposite direction toward the Lincoln Mall, according Zerva. Route 116 is designated as a bicycle suitable route and will eventually host signage designating that use along the road.
Before that becomes an option for Woonsocket residents, however, pavement will have be laid on the graded connection route.
“A lot of the remaining work is weather dependent,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes.” |
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 30 September 2008 )
|
Horoscope