Users of the Norwottuck Rail Trail in Hadley were met with an electronic sign Saturday with an important message: the bike path will soon be closed.
The bike path, which runs from Leeds in Northampton to Belchertown, will be closed at Route 9 starting on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
The reason the trail will be closed is due to construction on Route 9 in Hadley, according to a recorded message with the Massachusetts State Parks system from Sandra Cameron, supervisor of Greenway State Park, which encompasses portions of the bike path.
In addition to the bridge, the section of the trail from Route 9 to Maple Street in Hadley will also be closed, according to the state’s website.
The trail will be closed at the tunnel under Route 9 from Tuesday, Sept. 5, through Tuesday, Oct. 10 — a stretch from Labor Day through Indigenous Peoples’ Day, also known as Columbus Day.
The Route 9 tunnel on the Norwottuck Rail Trail in Hadley, which will be closed through September and early October. (Dave Eisenstadter/MassLive.com)
The closure comes at a difficult section of the path in terms of traffic. Route 9 in Hadley does not have established bike lanes on that stretch of road where the bike path is closed.
No immediate information about alternative routes for bikers or pedestrians was available on Saturday.
