MATTAPOISETT — It’s like Creedence Clearwater Revival always says: “Big wheels keep on turning.”

The Mattapoisett Rail Trail bike path is making progress after the town revealed plans for the Industrial Drive section of the bikeway at a Conservation Commission meeting on Nov. 23.

Jake Carmody, project manager and engineer at The Engineering Corporation, presented plans to the Commission for a 1.5 mile portion of the path that will start at the Park and Ride on North Street.

From there, the path will cross over North Street, go along the south side of Industrial Drive, cross the drive at Boat Rock Road to the north side of the street. The path will then run off Industrial Drive and onto the gravel access path at the end of the road.

This gravel portion will be graded and paved, and this section will run all the way to the town line where it will connect with Marion’s bike path when it is eventually built.

The path will be offset from the road by a grass buffer. 

During the presentation, Commission Chair Michael King raised concern for pedestrian safety.

He said that on Industrial Drive, it “can be kind of hectic at 3:30 p.m.” when people are getting off work.

Carmody explained that each crossing will have a marked crosswalk with high-visibility white lines, plus a rectangular rapid flashing beacon.

The only public comment received on the project was from Robin Lepore, a member of the Friends of the Mattapoisett Bike Path, a nonprofit organization raising money for the project.

She said she’s impressed with the work done by TEC on the project, and that although state grant funding has been sparse because of covid, the organization has raised $95,000 for the “Marion Connector” portion of the project. 

That money, plus a $110,000 state MassTrails grant, will help fund the project.

Construction is projected to begin in spring 2021.