The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is set to repair 12 miles of the East Bay Bike Path from Bristol to East Providence, removing cracks and resurfacing one of the state's most popular bikeways. Approximately 900,000 people use this path annually.
Starting this week, path users may encounter crews on the path on weekdays. They will cut back brush and limbs encroaching on the bike path, remove any hanging limbs or dead trees, patch cracks, and clean up debris blown down from this winter's strong storms.
In late spring, RIDOT will resurface the path between Independence Park in Bristol and Riverside Square in East Providence. There are some sections in between that were resurfaced in the past few years through local utility work, and those areas will be seal-coated. The cost for this work is $1.4 million.
The path will not be closed. There may be brief daytime closures in areas where crews are working, and no work will take place on weekends. When paving and restriping takes place in late spring, single day closures of short sections of bikeway will be needed.
All schedules are weather-dependent and subject to change. The project is scheduled to finish in late June.
Repairs to the East Bay Bike Path are made possible by RhodeWorks, RIDOT's ongoing commitment to repair structurally deficient bridges and bring Rhode Island's transportation infrastructure into a state of good repair, promote economic development, and create jobs. Learn more at www.ridot.net/RhodeWorks.