Richmond is well on its way to becoming a bicycle-friendly town, according to Mayor Dwight C. Jones.

Wednesday, the mayor showcased 1.8 miles of new bike lanes on the Manchester Bridge that connects 9th Street in Downtown with Commerce Road on South Side. The lanes illustrate the pro-cycling changes in place ahead of the upcoming international bike races that will begin Saturday, Sept. 19, in Richmond.

In a statement to the Free Press, Mayor Jones said the bridge improvements plus other work, such as the installation of bike lanes and bike racks across the city, illustrate that the city’s bike master plan is being put in action.

“These projects are only a first step toward building a robust network of bikeways across and throughout the city,” he stated.

Coming additions include the Floyd Avenue bike-walk street on which construction will begin in October after a lengthy design and public input process.

The city spent $150,000 to install the bike lanes on the Manchester Bridge and has invested another $230,000 installing bike lanes on and around the Lee Bridge, on part of Leigh Street and on a portion of Hermitage Road.

The mayor also announced that the city Department of Public Works has completed a series of projects to prepare for the bike races.

The list of projects included installing 23.5 miles of bike lanes, repaving 43 lane miles of streets and installing 8 miles of new sidewalks. The department also expects to have 400 new bike racks installed on city streets by Friday, Sept. 18.

In addition, the department has installed or revamped 275 sidewalk ramps to improve access for the disabled, improved or revamped four gateways into the city, planted 180 trees, remarked 83 intersections, completed nearly 3 miles of walking and bike trails and installed 950 new directional signs.