STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Go on and ride the bike path between Fox Acres and Gannett roads this week.

The path is not being seal coated this week, after all.

The Blaine County Recreation District has postponed the seal coating that was planned for that stretch of the path to the week of Sept. 18 as the contractor was still involved with another project. Seal coating will now commence on Monday, Sept. 18, and end on Friday, Sept. 22.

Trail users are asked to stay off the newly sealed surface for 48 hours after the application to allow for proper drying. Using the path before it’s dried can damage shoes, clothes, bikes and rollerblades, as well as the trail surface itself.

The project involves applying asphalt emulsion to seal the trail surface. It preserves the trail’s smooth surface, which can become rough and cracked due to weather and regular use. The Gannett to Fox Acres Road portion was last seal coated three years ago.