STAFFORD – (Press release) River Road will be closed several days next week to accommodate work on Phase IV of the Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail.
Crews will be installing a pipe under the road to improve drainage of runoff near the entrance to Pratt Park. Visitors will still be able to access Pratt Park via River Road from Route 1. River Road will be closed to traffic on Tuesday – Thursday, April 2– 4, 2019, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
“I am encouraged that this work will help alleviate some of the flooding that has been such a problem for the last year on River Road,” said Supervisor Tom Coen, George Washington District. “With the second wettest year on record, we struggled to advance Phase IV of the Belmont-Ferry Farm Trail. The drainage improvement will help move that effort forward as well.”
Work has been delayed on the new section of the trail due to the constant flooding resulting from the record-setting rainfall over the last year. The current pipe under the roadway used to drain water coming from the hillside of Pratt Park has deteriorated. The new pipe should carry the water away from the road as well as the trail project, allowing work to proceed.
Phase IV of the trail, connecting the Pratt Park section under the Chatham Bridge and up to the Chatham Bridge, is expected to be complete in early Fall 2019.
Motorists will be allowed to enter River Road from points west of the Pratt Park entrance – Washington Street, Route 1 to Cambridge Street and Gordon Street, to reach the park. On the eastern side of the park, no traffic will be allowed except for one lane to Route 3 for those exiting Chatham Manor.
