The city of Eugene will begin work this week on a significant improvement project on the shared-use path that runs through the riverfront section of the university campus.

That path runs west from the Frohnmayer Footbridge to East Eighth Avenue and is used by bicyclists and pedestrians as part of the city’s Ruth Bascom Riverbank Trail System.

The project will entail an extended closure of the path starting May 10 and lasting throughout the summer months. The project is expected to be completed at the end of September.

The improvements include the reconstruction of 3,000 feet of path to current city standards, including pedestrian lighting.

Collaborating with the university’s Office of Campus Planning on the design, the city will realign the western portion of the path to be further removed from the edge of the riverbank and to eliminate some sharp turns.

A new section of concrete path, with lighting and other trail amenities, will be built. Parts of the existing path close to the river will be converted into a gravel walking trail.  

Work on the project will include excavation and concrete paving, erosion control and some utility work and landscape restoration.

Trail users will be detoured south to Franklin Boulevard or north through Alton Baker Park as a result of the closure. 

 For questions about the work, contact the city’s project manager, Rachael Love, at 541-682-5477 or RLove@eugene-or.gov.