Mattapoisett Official: Bike Path May Fully Open in April

MATTAPOISETT — Get your bikes ready: if all goes well, the last leg of the Mattapoisett Rail Trail's "Shining Tides Mile" could be open as early as mid-April.

That's according to Mattapoisett Select Board chair R. Tyler Macallister, who updated town residents on the project status in a post to a local Facebook group on Thursday afternoon.

Macallister wrote that town officials had just completed a punch list walkthrough with Acushnet-based contractor D.W. White, and noted that "a mid-April opening is not out of the question," depending on a few items outside the town's control.

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The Mattapoisett Rail Trail is a continuation of Fairhaven's 4.5-mile Phoenix Bike Trail.

Last year saw the much-anticipated opening of the western part of Shining Tides Mile, which runs from Mattapoisett Neck Road to Reservation Road near the golf course on a bridge over the Mattapoisett River.

The project broke ground in late 2019, but construction of the eastern section between Reservation Road and the end of Goodspeed Island Road was delayed due to warped decking material, which had to be replaced.

It would connect the bike trail to the village waterfront area, including Town Beach and Mattapoisett Harbor.

Now that section is almost ready to open, according to Macallister.

"Next on the list is a bridge inspection by the state, completion of a few minor items identified during the walk, completion of the MOU with the state and some other minor items," the select board chair wrote.

"There are several items that are out of the town’s control which may delay the opening," Macallister stressed to WBSM News.

He also complimented D.W. White on "a very nice job," including "cleanliness."