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UPDATE: Synergy Park walking trails washing away
By BRENDA BROWN
knhedit@kilgorenewsherald.com
Portions of the walking trails at Synergy Park have washed away so Kilgore Economic Development Corporation directors discussed their options with an engineer during their regular meeting Tuesday night.
Rick Martindale from Adams Engineering in Tyler told the board the majority of the two trails is in good shape, but some spots have deteriorated since they were constructed five or so years ago.
The engineer said the board might consider concrete, asphalt or renovating the existing decomposed granite trails. Trustees unanimously agreed they preferred a “natural” trail to other options if they should decide to make repairs, not only for appearance but also because they believe most walkers and joggers prefer “soft” paths as opposed to hard ones.
Synergy Park has approximately 1 mile of trails — one-tenth of a mile is located around the pond and the remainder winds around the Elder Lake area.
Martindale said there are seven or eight low spots where rainwater has eroded the paths. Some may likely require larger storm drain pipes or other drainage mechanisms because the rain has “over-topped” the trail and caused erosion. Some of the pipes may simply need regular maintenance because they occasionally become plugged with leaves and pine straw.
Through the years, some of the finer parts of the gravel bed, called “fines,” have washed or blown away, causing parts of the trail to improperly bond and the gravel has spread beyond its original confines. Martindale, who walked the trails a couple of weeks ago in a preliminary survey, suggested studying possible ways to bind the existing granite and/or add additional granite to the trails.
Nobles said the area was suffering from drought conditions when the trails were built and some of the fines blew away because “we needed Mother Nature’s help” to pack the material in addition to what the contractor did manually.
She added the trails were constructed before much of the infrastructure and the buildings now located within the industrial park, and that may be partially responsible for the trail erosion problems.
“We’ve got some places where water is undermining the trail,” Nobles said. “When we put the trails in, there was no development. We have since put in roads and buildings, so a lot of water soaked up by open land is now paved and that water has got to go somewhere.”
Karl Edmonds, KEDC director, will form a committee to further investigate repair options and costs.
EDMONDS ALSO volunteered to oversee a committee to study the options for vegetation on the holding pond inclines as the original vegetation did not establish itself. Engineer Adams told the board some topsoil will probably have to be brought in as the sides consist mostly of clay and pebbles.
In other action, the directors accepted a partial release regarding the right-of-way for an old, inactive ARCO/BP gas pipeline at Synergy Park.
The pipeline, which Nobles said runs north to south, crosses four lots and affects 30 to 50 acres located east of the Orgill distribution warehouse.
“The release will free up that area for development and, in the future, if needed, we can grant right-of-way space where it’s not across a lot,” Nobles said.
The board voted to hire contractor Earl Booth to make repairs to curbs and cracks on Elder Lake Road. Reynolds & Kay Contractors in Tyler built the street in 1999 and some maintenance is needed, Nobles said. KEDC will pay for the work on an hourly basis and Tim Hobbs, city street department manager, will oversee the project.
Nobles said some of the rebar used in construction was not cut properly, causing expansion/contraction problems in the concrete roadway. She said spalling has caused some of the concrete to break off from the inside. Booth’s crews will cut out affected areas and replace them. The total cost for repairs is unknown but will be monitored as the work progresses.
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