Major Trails expansion under way
New phases will complete walking path from north to south side of town
TRAIL EXPANSION — MMS Construction employees Ricardo Flores, Eric Ellis and Jaime Perez, from left, create forms for new segments of Kingfisher Trails just north of Robberts Avenue. Pouring the concrete requires warmer temperatures, but MMS owner Shawn
KT&FP Managing Editor
By the time spring rolls around, people who like to use Kingfisher Trails for their exercise will be able to travel from one end of town uninterrupted to the other.
MMS Construction of Kingfisher has begun work on the latest phase of the Trails that will completely connect Briscoe Park on the south end of town to the area just behind Walter Building Center on the north end.
The current project has two phases:
• One that will connect existing parts of the trail at Eighth Street just north of Robberts Avenue to the area just east of 10th Street on the south side of Admire Avenue, and,
• One that begins near 11th Street and Sheridan Avenue and runs south past Don Blanding Avenue and connects to the existing trail that ends just north of Wyatt Avenue between 11th and 12th streets.
That existing trail eventually leads south to Briscoe Park.
All told, said MMS Construction owner Shawn Scammahorn, it’s about 2,400 feet of new trails that will require somewhere between 500 and 600 yards of concrete.
The project is contracted for 90 days.
“But it shouldn’t take that long if the weather cooperates,” said Scammahorn. “We really expect to be finished by spring break.”
Scammahorn and his crew are currently working on building the form for the trail.
Pouring will have to come later.
“This part is in the lower part of Kingfisher. In fact, most of this property was in the flood buyout,” he said. “And right now the area is very wet.
“Plus, right now, the nighttime temperatures aren’t conducive to pouring concrete.”
He said temperatures need to be around 40 degrees when pouring during the day and 30 at night.
However, he said, his crew will put blankets over the newly-poured areas for four to five days to help prevent the concrete from freezing overnight.
“This time of year, it’s just something you have to do,” he said. “It’s an added expense for us, but it’s either do that or sit around and wait.
“We want to get the project finished so people can start using it as soon as possible.”
Another Trails project planned for this year is the start of construction on the festival grounds and park just west of Kingfisher’s downtown and north of S.H. 33.
Funded by federal and state grant money and local donations, the project will include a band shell for outdoor concerts.
Later phases of the project will include a water feature and other attractions.
The festival ground and park is being constructed primarily on floodplain properties bought out by the city and then cleared of structures.