Crews began dismantling one of the old East Bay Bike Path trestle bridges late last month. 

Once the demolition of both bike path bridges is complete, new bridges will be constructed and the temporary detours that are in place on the motor vehicle bridges will be removed. 

“It’s going to be a massive improvement,” said Barrington Town Manager Phil Hervey. “It’s great to see — to get that temporary bike detour off the bridge is great.”

Hervey said the work will take some time, but added that he was pleased to see the demolition begin recently. 

The East Bay Bike Path serves a crucial role in the town’s bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Hervey said there are plans to make more improvements in those areas. 

“The East Bay Bike Path is the spine, really. We’re trying to build off of that the best we can,” Hervey said. 

Barrington has plans to build a new path that would connect the Barrington High School campus with the East Bay Bike Path, through a wooded area near Prince’s Pond and then connecting via Foote Street and Prince’s Hill Avenue. 

“We’re trying to get safety enhancements all the way to the bike path, to Prince’s Hill, where you cross. That would be great. That would really open up an access point, and hopefully take away some of the traffic,” Hervey said, adding that Pare Engineering is tasked with completing the conceptual design work. 

“We’re getting there. It takes a while. I hope people are patient, you want to do it right. You don’t want to go down the wrong path. You want to do projects that have the most bang for your buck, that meet the greatest needs.”

Barrington is also planning bicycle and pedestrian improvements for Lincoln Avenue and South Lake Drive. Hervey said the South Lake Drive work is still in the engineering phase. 

“We have to do permitting specs over the winter. Hopefully we’ll bid it out over the winter and build in the spring,” he said. 

The town is also trying expedite construction of a sidewalk along Massasoit Avenue, Hervey said.

“There’s no shoulder. You’re walking in yards,” Hervey said about Massasoit Avenue, adding that the road is heavily used by students traveling to and from school each day.