By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET — The environmental clean-up plan that will clear the way for a much-anticipated bike path and redevelopment of property on Front Street was the topic of a public hearing held Tuesday night by the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency (PRA).

At last month’s PRA meeting, a bid was awarded to the engineering firm Vanesse Hangen Brustlin (VHB) to handle the environmental work associated with three lots on Front Street. On Tuesday, VHB gave a presentation of the plan to neighbors and abutters, as required by the Department of Environmental Management.
The site of a former textile mill and, in recent years, an auto salvage business, the soil was found to be contaminated with a variety of substances associated with industrial use. The property is being remediated through three federal “brownfields” grants totaling $600,000, plus an additional matching grant from the city for $120,000.
According to Barney Heath, assistant director of the city’s Planning Department, about 15 neighborhood residents attended the hearing. Several spoke about various concerns surrounding the soil remediation project, which is expected to take about a year to complete.
Heath said that VHB outlined the process for the clean-up, which includes demolishing the existing buildings at the site and removing any contaminated materials and soil. Plans also call for the area to be capped with a special “geo-textile”material, then covered with 12 feet of clean soil.
Heath said this process would bring the site up to residential standards as outlined by DEM, so as to make it safe for users of the bike path or for future residential development.
Plans call for a 15-foot deep strip of land that runs along the river to be set aside as an easement for the Blackstone River Bikeway project. Once completed, the bikeway will stretch from Providence to Worcester.
The rest of the property has the potential to be sold for development according to “riverfront zoming,” which allows a mixed use of residential or commercial properties, said Heath. The city will retain a permanent easement along the river for the bikeway.
The three lots comprising the site once belonged to Collette Travel Service, but were later acquired by the Pawtucket Redevelopment Agency.