Encore Boston Harbor crews have moved in the last two weeks to being work on a critical piece of the Northern Strand Community Path – a section that will link the Village in Everett to the waterfront and beyond.

“We have started work and are going through a continuous process to get final approvals for all of it, including on the mall property,” said Encore spokesman Greg John. “Our plan is to get this done some time in May. We have to get it done and we will get it done. It’s on schedule and moving forward and we hope to have it fully open and operating four weeks before we open our doors. People will be able to ride their bikes directly down the path to our site. We are excited about that.”

The long-missing connection brings continuous access from Lynn to the Encore site via the Northern Strand. In the future, it is hoped that a pedestrian bridge will connect the new path to the Somerville side – allowing continuous access to Cambridge, Somerville and downtown Boston.

The details of that bridge, however, have not yet been completely worked out.

Right now, crews are working on the MBTA side of the path and are moving at breakneck speed.

At one time, the owners of the Gateway Mall, DDRC Corp., were resistant to letting Encore crews on the property to build out the path. However, John said that is no longer the case and the only holdup now is simple details like signing off on a landscaping plan.

“It’s exciting and something we are glad to do,” he said. “It’s an old commitment we made and we’re happy to see it getting done now.”