The headline of this article was corrected and paragraph two was added on April 20 to reflect the pending council meeting to approve the contract (new material in paragraph 2).
Atlantic City’s purchasing department on Wednesday awarded Egg Harbor City’s Command Company a contract to build out the chunk of a planned bike loop that will connect the beach to Gardner’s Basin via specially-adapted city streets in the inlet.
City Council will discuss the contract on April 26. If it is approved, the work on the bike loop could be completed by the end of June. Work on the project should be completed within 75 days and will start within 10 days from the approved purchase order, according to the bid documents.
The loop will give cyclists a route through the northern end of Absecon Island, to and from the restaurants on the bay side of the island and the boardwalk. When the Boardwalk extension to Gardner’s Basin is completed, cyclists will also be able to do a longer loop using the boardwalk in one direction and the city streets in the other direction.
The bike loop will feature signs, bollards and road markings so that drivers will be aware of cyclists.
Atlantic City received a $296,000 grant from New Jersey for the project in 2015. The bid came in under the grant amount, according to Planning Director Elizabeth Terenik.