Rain hampers Grandview Park progress

Jul. 12—Heavy rains have muddied work at Grandview Park, under construction near Peak Boulevard.

"Due to the rain, we have extended the park opening, so it will probably be September," said Assistant Director-Recreation Brooke Hall. "We've added another 70 days."

Hall said workers are back on site this week, pumping water from the playground area. They will add French drains.

Parks and Recreation Director Mark Wilkerson said the 29-acre park features high and low ground, which posed challenges to contractors. Muddy areas kept contractors from working.

"Most of the work is completed on the high ground, but is not completed on the low ground," Wilkerson said. "That's because the water tends to go to that low ground with its claylike soil. Contractors had trouble doing work. They wanted to wait until it dries up. We were tearing it up more than we were progressing."

Wilkerson said the playground is in the lower part of the park.

At a Parks Board meeting Wednesday, Wilkerson said contractors were not able to drive equipment into the area in March.

"We agreed we would let them stop and remobilize," he said. "And we had rain over the weekend and on Monday. All they've been doing is pumping the area back out. With this 100-degree weather this week, they're going to get back on it."

Grandview Park is a redevelopment of an old city park that had fallen into disrepair, Wilkerson has said. The park will feature a half-mile paved trail loop as well as dirt trail with bike skill elements for cyclists.

"We think this park will attract people not just from the neighborhood but outside the city," Hall said.

The park's playground features a merry-go-round and a variety of log and rope climbing features and rope swings.

"This is an awesome playground," Hall said. "Different from all our other playgrounds."

A bike playground features a dirt trail, dirt mounds, wood bridges and wavy structures, tunnels, banks and walls. Cyclists can do jumps from a hill.

Hall said the park will have an entrance from the north.

"I hope for the future there will be access to the south," she said.

The park will share Grandview Park Boulevard with Hilldale Elementary School.

"The school is very excited about this project," Hall said. "Like any school, there's extra traffic during drop-off and pickup time."

Grant funding comes mostly from the Recreational Trial Program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the City of Muskogee Foundation and private donors.