(Photo © J. Maus)
The city has issued an advisory that there will be a temporary detour early next month on the portion of the Springwater Trail that runs through the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge, just north of the amusement park.
The 75 foot long detour will run directly parallel to the trail, only a few feet away, and will be in place between the hours of 6:30am and 6:00pm from Monday, October 5th to Wednesday, October 14th.
People traveling by bicycle will be asked to walk the distance of the detour. Flaggers will direct bicycle and foot traffic.
The closure is taking place to allow for a soil testing contractor’s vehicles and equipment to use the trail safely during a soil testing project. Trail users will experience some delays when vehicles are moving on and off the trail.
The contractor is performing geotechnical investigations for the design of the Oaks Bottom Habitat Enhancement Project. The project starts in 2011 and will remove fish passage barriers and improve the habitats of endangered salmonids, waterfowl, and other species. At that time more construction will take place along the trail.
This is not related to the sewer construction work that has closed the trail until February between SE Spokane and SE Umatilla streets.