Burlington South End Bike Path Rehabilitation almost complete

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - It’s been a day years in the making for the city of Burlington. Officials announced Thursday that one of the most challenging pieces of the Bike Path Rehabilitation Project in the South End is almost complete.

City officials say the reopening marks an important milestone in getting the Bike Path back in shape. They say they’re now on track to complete the section from Perkins Pier to Blanchard Beach by the end of this year. That leaves a one-mile section through Oakledge Park left to be completed next year.

The path leading up to Roundhouse Park features steel-reinforced concrete which will function as a sea wall to protect it from wind and waves in an area prone to flooding.

Taxpayers funded the project with a bond passed in 2016, but the Parks Foundation of Burlington paid for the park, or “pause area.” It’s dedicated to Janet Bossange and her brother David.

John Bossange, Janet's husband, is chair of the Parks Foundation and unveiled a small memorial Thursday. "We were here a lot before it was a park. We'd walk out here and find a place to sit on the rocks. She would just admire the view, and it's a great place to reflect, so she'd be thinking now it's easier to do what we've always done," Bossange said.

He says he hopes future generations will enjoy the spot for the same reasons. Up next on the construction agenda is the section to the south of Roundhouse Park through the Barge Canal. The city says it should have that portion completed by the end of October, expanding the path from 8 to 15-feet wide -- a notorious pinch point for runners of the Vermont City Marathon.

By November, the city plans to have the piece leading up to Lakeside Avenue finished, eliminating the detour onto Pine Street.

City officials say the South End transformation is the beginning of the end of the years-long rehabilitation project.

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