East Lyme — Town officials are anticipating the town’s half-mile stretch of boardwalk along Niantic Bay will be rebuilt by October.

First Selectman Mark Nickerson said the town is hoping to have a celebration to mark the completion in early October.

Once completed, the town's walkway will adjoin Amtrak's existing boardwalk — resulting in a 1.1-mile path overall.

Wiese Construction, a local company, is rebuilding the Niantic Bay Boardwalk, which has been redesigned as a concrete walkway with a steel bulkhead.

Nickerson said most of the utility work is done and the majority of the steel pilings are in place, but the cement still needs to be poured.

“We’re all anxious to get out there,” he said about the boardwalk. “We’re going to build it right, and all hands are on deck.”

Construction began on the boardwalk in September, and officials originally planned to open the boardwalk in time for this summer. But Nickerson said the project hit a number of delays, including longer-than-anticipated negotiations with Amtrak and a tough winter.

There were also some construction delays from hitting more ledge, at parts of the site, than expected, he said.

The project remains on budget, he said.

About $4.9 million had been set aside to rebuild the boardwalk, which was damaged during storms. The funds were from insurance and lawsuit settlements, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant.

“We’re going to have an awesome boardwalk, the envy of New England,” Nickerson said. “We have a booming downtown that’s just waiting for this.”

k.drelich@theday.com

Twitter: @KimberlyDrelich