BP will close a half-mile section of the recreational trail on the south side of the North Platte River for construction beginning this month, according to a news release from the company and the Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board.

The trail will reopen in the fall with a temporary gravel surface, and will be repaved next spring.

Meanwhile, BP has a map showing a detour around the closed portion of the trail.

BP will install a secondary subsurface barrier wall between the river and the former Amoco refinery property, now known as the Platte River Commons. The barrier, called a slurry wall, will give the river additional protection against potential migration of remaining hydrocarbons from the former refinery site.

Construction crews will install the wall with a process called one-pass trenching that eliminates the need for an open trench. The wall will be comprised of a mixture of native soil and bentonite clay. The one-pass process is up to five times faster than the traditional open-trenching process.

The 30-inch-wide wall will extend from just below ground level to bedrock. After completion, access along the riverfront will be the same as before construction.

BP is working with the Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, according to the news release. "We will use local contractors whenever possible for the project, with one exception being the specialty contractor who will install the wall itself."

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