BENTONVILLE (KFSM) - The Bentonville Parks and Recreation Department is asking city council to approve a bid award for new pathways at Orchards Park. The project will be built by Diamond C. Constuction and will cost $68,985.68, according to the city's agenda.
Orchards Park is located in front of the entrance that leads to Crystal Bridges.
"It’s certainly a huge quality or amenity of that," said David Wright, director. "It appeals to our residents but also to our visitors who come to town."The pathways will be built around and through 180 legacy sugar maple trees that were recently planted.
"We chose sugar maples because of the color that it will provide in the Fall season," Wright said. "It’s a hardy tree, it does well in this part of the country."
"We think that it’s something that will last for hundreds of years there and then the pathways, they are really something to allow people to have access to it," he said. "Picture that venue in 20 years or 30 years, think of the wow factor that it will provide to the citizens for generations to come.”
The construction project is on the south side of Orchards Park. It will be crushed stone pathways that will lead through the orchard.
The orchard was inspired by the name of the park and pays tribute to Benton County's Agricultural history, according to the city's agenda notes.
"We treat that as we do any park whether it be Lawrence Plaza or the Downtown Square or Memorial Park," Wright said. "But there are lots of folks that come in and out of there and we’re proud of that.”
If city council approves the funding for the job, crews will start construction by the end of August. It's expected to take about to months to complete.
Orchards Park is about four years old. The entire project with the trees and the pathways will cost about $106,000, according to Wright.