LAWRENCE: Contract awarded for next phase of trail

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Township Council has awarded a contract to a Point Pleasant-based paving contractor to construct the next phase of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, dubbed the Lewisville Road segment.
   The council approved the $180,840 bid submitted by All Surface Asphalt Paving Inc. of Point Pleasant at its Sept. 4 meeting. The bid was one of four submitted by contractors, which ranged in price from $180,840 to $241,640.
   Municipal Engineer James Parvesse had estimated the cost at $186,750.
   Money for the trail construction will come from a portion of a $248,000 grant received by the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corp. and Lawrence Township from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. Taxpayers’ money will not be used for the project.
   The Lewisville Road segment will take pedestrians and bicyclists off road for about 3,000 feet as it meanders across the former Union Camp property — now owned by the Bristol Myers-Squibb Co. — bordered by Princeton Pike and Lewisville Road.
   The Lewisville Road segment will begin on Princeton Pike at the Brearley Oak, opposite Lenox Drive. The trail will make use of some existing roads on the tract. It will end on Lewisville Road, across the street from the entrance driveway to The Lawrenceville School’s athletic fields.
   Work on the Lewisville Road segment is expected to begin in a few weeks, and it should be finished this year, Mr. Parvessse said. It will take about 30 days to complete it, he said.
   The Lewisville Road segment is part of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, which is a 22-mile loop trail for pedestrians and bicyclists that connects Lawrence and Hopewell townships. The trail has been in the works for more than 10 years, and it is about 75 percent complete, according to Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corp. officials.