The evolution of the Bridgeport Recreation Complex, which opened in 2012, continues. Again, city staff are looking to make the experience better for those utilizing the heavily used facility.

 

Although the existing exit and entrance has served the Rec Complex satisfactorily, it wasn’t flawless. Bridgeport Parks and Recreation Director Don Burton said the narrow entry created some issues.

 

“We’ve always had some difficulty with large vehicles such as buses or trucks pulling in to drop of kids or make a delivery at the park because it’s really tight through the area where you enter and exit,” said Burton. “When you have events that have a lot of participants and a lot of traffic with it you also had a tendency to see a bottleneck of traffic there.”

 

By the end of this month, or perhaps sooner, those issues should be eliminated. And they will likely be eliminated thanks to the city’s own work force.

 

“We wanted to address the issue at minimal cost and thanks to (City Engineer) Tom Brown who was kind enough to put the city’s concrete work crew on it we should be able to do just that,” said Burton.

 

For the last several days, workers have been busy creating a separate exit and entry area. To meet this task, city workers have shrunk the island that existed between the previous entry and exit way and the parking lot. To create additional space along with shrinking the island where lighting is installed, a part of the parking lot was removed.

 

“The entry way will be a little larger than the exit,” said Burton. “The way we have it set it should definitely help with the flow of traffic.”

 

While Burton knows time frames for August projects usually have a huge variable in the form of weather, he’s confident it will be ready for the event that has put more athletes in the complex than any event in the short history of the facility. The Second Annual Charles Pointe Indian Run Invitational – a cross country meet hosted at the facility that has more than 1,000 participants in all the events – is set for August 27.

 

“We definitely plan on it being read for that event. The good news is that we hope it will be finished sooner,” said Burton.

 

The construction will continue until complete. Burton said those wishing to access the facility will not be impacted by the work.