Government

Riverhead Town Board looking for a deal to finish EPCAL bike path

The Riverhead Town Board is hoping to reduce the price for completing the bike path at Enterprise Park at Calverton — formally known as the EPCAL bicycle path/Vietnam Memorial Trail. The board is issuing a request for proposals to do the job instead of using a contractor off of a New York contract. 

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio said the contractor from the state contract has a fee of $200,000 for one mile of track, whereas the town spent $200,000 on the three miles already built.

“Hopefully, we will get the responses back by the middle of February and the whole trail will be complete by spring,” she said. “It will make a complete nine-mile loop around the EPCAL and the perimeter security road way.”

Ms. Giglio said at Wednesday’s Town Board meeting that “everybody is using the bike path now,” but then was reminded by Councilman Tim Hubbard that the park is closed in January due to hunting season.

The town completed the first three miles of the project in 2008, using a $200,000 state grant and in-house work from the town highway department.

Town parks and recreation superintendent Ray Coyne has said the trail is one of the most popular recreation facilities in the town.

The asphalt trail starts at the EPCAL dog park parking lot, then heads east along Route 25 and inside the former Grumman security fence so that bikers aren’t in traffic. The path goes past the Grumman Memorial and then heads south near the Calverton Industries sand mine, with the paved section ending slightly east of that.

Once the rest of the work is completed, the trail will go south to Grumman Boulevard/River Road, then head west to Line Road, and back north to the dog park.

The town recently received grants of $200,000 from the county and $750,000 from the state for the park, and the state granted a permit to begin the work.

“It will be a great asset to the town,” Ms. Giglio said.

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