EVERETT — The Lowell Riverfront Trail runs 1.6 miles from Lowell north to what is now the site of the Riverfront housing and commercial development.
Walking the trail from south to north, the sounds of chirping birds and croaking frogs eventually give way to that of construction equipment. The rush of traffic on I-5 a short distance away is the only constant.
Near the trail’s north end, it’s still possible to spot wildlife such as a ruffed grouse in the underbrush, but seeing a Caterpillar front-loader is more likely.
The Riverfront Trail is still in the early stages of construction, but some people got a surprise walking there Jan. 22 when they found a chain link fence blocking their way where the trail enters the development.
“My neighbor and I went down, took our walk down through the wetlands because they’ve been bringing in a lot of fill,” said Marie Phillips, who lives in the Lowell neighborhood.
The fence, with a “no trespassing” sign, blocked their way.
Phillips said they talked to a construction manager on the site.
“I was told he put it up, he owned the property and that he could do whatever he wanted,” she said.
Polygon Northwest, the development company behind Riverfront, does own the property that the trail now runs across, but the city has an easement to allow public access to the trail.
That will become more complicated as the development proceeds, and the plans call for Polygon eventually to move the trail about 50 feet to the south, said Dave Davis, Everett’s director of public works.
Blocking the trail wasn’t a good solution, Davis said, and the fence will be reoriented to separate the public from the construction site until the work moves close enough to warrant closing the trail.
Polygon removed the section of fence blocking the trail Wednesday.
A more pressing concern was about 1,200 feet of a silt fence was breached during the November windstorm.
Runoff and sand from the construction site spilled through the fence and poured into the nearby wetland.
Davis said that as of Tuesday there was still a small hole in the fence, but that otherwise the breach had been fixed.
“Ultimately they’ll have to develop a restoration plan,” Davis said.
The runoff was tinted a bright orange color in places.
On Thursday Julie Sklare, an environmental specialist for the city, took samples of the orange slime for testing.
The slime is most likely caused by iron bacteria, Sklare said, a group of bacteria that thrive in anaerobic soil and break down iron compounds for oxygen. When they later get exposed to oxygen, the conversion process creates a rusty slime that coats stones, wood or anything else in the water.
The bacteria give off a faintly sulfurous smell, which some people liken to sewage. It occasionally forms an oily sheen on the surface of the water that can be mistaken for petroleum.
“If you beat the sheen and it breaks apart, it isn’t petroleum,” Sklare said, spooning samples of the gunk into a jar.
“This looks pretty classic,” she said.
The city will run tests and probably identify the slime within a day, she said.
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
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