Spring Lake Park trail surface started, finished same day

Troy Young from Tri-State Asphalt Inc. smooths out freshly laid asphalt Tuesday on the Spring Lake Park trail in Texarkana, Texas. The project is funded by a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grant and will include new benches and signs explaining the history of the park.
Troy Young from Tri-State Asphalt Inc. smooths out freshly laid asphalt Tuesday on the Spring Lake Park trail in Texarkana, Texas. The project is funded by a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department grant and will include new benches and signs explaining the history of the park.

Work crews on Tuesday started and finished laying a new asphalt surface on the walking trail around the pond at Texarkana, Texas' Spring Lake Park.

Before Tuesday's final step, the city Parks and Recreation Department and local contractor Tatum Excavating Co. worked for about a month removing the old surface and creating a new trail bed to prepare for the asphalt.

The new trail eventually will have a "Walk Through History" theme and feature five to eight signs explaining significant events in the park's past. Each sign will include a scan code leading readers to more extensive information, a city spokesperson said.

Parks and Rec plans to also add new benches around the pond near the trail.

Three years ago, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department awarded the city a grant of more than $130,000 to fund the project, but because of various procedural delays including archaeological and environmental studies, the money was not available to the city until recently.

The new trail will complement other recent improvements at the park, including new playground equipment and ballfield lights, as well as the draining and dredging of the pond to a depth of 10 feet in 2017.

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