"Carl Barton, Jr. Park is a fabulous place to go individually, as a group, or as a family to experience the benefits of parks and recreation and make memories that will last a lifetime," says Mike Riggens, City of Conroe Parks and Recreation Director. For a decade Conroe has operated the park which is located just off South Loop 336, near the intersection of Porter road (FM 1314). When the 201 acre facility needed renovations, Conroe turned to Bleyl & Associates to coordinate the project. "Due to the popularity of the park," Riggens explained, "it has been challenging to not disrupt user access while at the same time ensuring the renovations are being done in a safe manner. Another challenge was working around four different underground utility lines. B&A did a fabulous job working with these groups to ensure everybody was on the same page regarding construction time lines and scope of work."
Levi Love, P.E. headed up the team from Bleyl and has helped coordinate paving, grading, drainage, and utiity work that was needed. Love said, "the city crews have performed excellently with a high degree of professionalism. The project could not have been completed without their construc tion abilities due to budget constraints." Love added that Ken Walker and Jerry Woodrome from the Bleyl Construction Administration Department have also played key roles in helping this project move forward. All the renovations are scheduled to be completed by September of this year.
Carl Barton, Jr. Park, one of 23 parks operated by the City of Conroe, provides visitors with a wide variety of opportunities. Rigges said, "You can take a walk around the pond via the concrete trail, toss or kick the ball around on one of the numerous athletic fields, take a bike ride or hike the three mile off road trail, cast your line and try your luck at fishing, host an event under the large pavillion, or just sit on one of the numerous picnic tables or benches and soak in the beauty of the park." Since the three acre pond was stocked with 1,750 trout in January, the fishing coud be outstanding. The three mile off-road trail is written about on various biking blogs around the country and is listed as a heavily wooded, beginner to intermediate track with quite a few switchbacks and very little elevations changes." Riggens said, "the trail is made up of natural materials and the trail head is located behind the outfield fence of the Little Leage baseball fields (Five-Plex). One of the enhancements under construction is an additional parking lot that will run behind the Five-Plex, allowing for easier access to the off road trail as well as access tothe pond and concrete walking trails."
Finally, Riggens said, "the entire community will benefit from the revovations as there is something for everyone at Carl Barton, Jr. Park."