Brewer residents and visitors got their first taste of the latest extension of the city’s popular riverfront trail over the weekend.
Construction crews Saturday removed the barriers blocking walkers from continuing down the newest section of the Brewer Riverwalk, letting walkers make use of the trail in unseasonably warm weather although the trail extension still requires some finishing touches.
Crews have laid pavement and installed lamp posts to the new stretch of the mile-long walking path, but benches, security cameras and landscaping are still to come.
Though the new section isn’t finished, Brewer Mayor Michele Daniels said she was pleased to be able to walk on the extended path over the weekend when temperatures in the Bangor area reached the low 70s.
“The Riverwalk brings people together,” Daniels said. “I think it’s a good thing for the city to have and it beautifies the surrounding area. The Riverwalk also makes the businesses that are on it much more accessible.”
Maine Earth, a Hampden-based contractor, began working on the extension in August, months earlier than expected.
The 900-foot addition begins at Hardy Street by Mason’s Brewing Company and continues south along the Penobscot River to South Main Street.
The extension cost $578,547, which the state and city split, according to the Maine Department of Transportation.
Daniels said this newest portion of the Riverwalk has the potential to lead walkers to a 2-mile rail trail the city dreams of developing on a dilapidated stretch of overgrown train tracks that run from Wilson Street to roughly 1,000 feet east of Green Point Road, though that likely won’t be built in the near future.
This extension is the third section of the Brewer Riverwalk, which has become a source of pride for the city since the first section opened in 2013.
The original section ran from Hardy Street to the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge. The next phase, unveiled in 2019, allowed the path to run through the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge to Betton Street.
