TOPSHAM — Construction began Monday on Riverwalk, a new 1.25-mile-long pedestrian and bicycle path that will offer visitors a scenic walk through the woods and close-up views of the Androscoggin River from Topsham and Brunswick.

Nancy Randolph, a spokeswoman for the committee that is heading the project, said the first phase of Riverwalk, a $1 million project, should be finished in three weeks.

Additional Photos

A pilot dips the basket of his hot air balloon in the Androscoggin River in August 2011. The Riverwalk will soon offer visitors to Brunswick and Topsham close-up views of the river, as well as a scenic walk through the woods. AP

Harry C. Crooker and Sons Inc. has been awarded the contract to build the first link of the trail at a cost of $120,000.

That link will begin at the Swinging Bridge Park in Topsham and end at Summer Street in Topsham Lower Village.

The completed path will connect downtown Brunswick with Topsham’s Lower Village and will feature a walk across the historic Swinging Bridge.

Randolph said funding for the rest of the project is expected to come from an $897,000 Maine Department of Transportation grant.