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Major construction on the first segment of the planned South Waterfront Greenway is scheduled to finish this month, in anticipation of the pedestrian and bicycle path opening next spring.

Paving has been completed, lawns are planted, and finishing touches 鈥� such as railing and guardrail installation 鈥� will be made through the end of the year, said Allison Rouse, project manager for Portland Parks & Recreation.

Although most the construction for the $15.5 million project will be done before Thanksgiving, the path will be fenced off to the public until spring 2015 to allow the grass time to mature, Rouse said.

鈥淭he lawns need to grow in and obtain a state of sturdiness,鈥� she said.

The approximately 1,250-foot-long trail and park along the Willamette River on the east end of South Waterfront District will be the middle segment of the planned 1.2-mile South Waterfront Greenway, Rouse said. The Portland City Council in 2004 approved a concept plan for the park and riverbank restoration project to eventually extend from the River Forum Building on Southwest Macadam Avenue to the Marquam Bridge. When complete, the path will serve as a bicyclist and pedestrian connection between downtown Portland and the Sellwood Bridge.

Crews from Dallas-based general contractor James W. Fowler Co. started construction on the middle segment of the greenway in June 2012, Rouse said. Money has not been secured to pay for construction of the north and south segments, she said.

The land where the rest of the greenway will be built is private property, but owners are amicable to path construction plans, Rouse said. This includes ZRZ Realty Co., which owns the Zidell Yards property where the north segment is planned.

Green Art Landscaping Co. provided landscaping for the middle segment. The electrical subcontractor was Affordable Electric Inc.

The project was funded through city parks system development charges and contributions from the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, the Portland Development Commission and TriMet.