West Thames Park swinging into shape

Photo courtesy of State D.O.T.

Workers paving the new dog run at West Thames Park last Friday. It is expected to reopen by Memorial Day.

The tire swing has arrived, the bikeway is paved and the benches are waiting to be unwrapped — the new West Thames Park is finally coming together.

The State Dept. of Transportation expects the refurbished park along West St., also known as Tire Swing Park, to reopen by Memorial Day. The enlarged dog run just south of the park should open by the end of this week, said Tom Mellett, construction manager for the D.O.T.’s Route 9A project.

Mellett added that the state would not have to work 24/7 to meet the Memorial Day opening, as was previously planned. Community Board 1’s Battery Park City Committee was pleased to hear that and gave Mellett a round of applause at a meeting Monday night.

The only thing that could hold up the park’s completion is a permit from the city Dept. of Environmental Protection to connect the park’s irrigation system to a water main. Mellett said the state applied for the permit over a month ago and can’t fill in the area around the pipes until the D.E.P. does an inspection. A D.E.P. spokesperson said the agnecy was waiting for a state contractor to submit information.

— Julie Shapiro