By next spring, Concord officials expect to open a new splash pad at White Park where kids can tromp among familiar structures like a whale, mushrooms and tumble buckets.

For the next few weeks, though, the hub of activity will come from construction crews laying the base for the city’s newest family attraction.

On Wednesday, six truckloads of concrete were delivered to White Park as crews laid the base of the oblong splash pad.

Construction of the kid-friendly attraction replaces what was a shallow kiddie pool, said public property superintendent Jay Burgess.

“This is a milestone in the project,” Burgess said.

Though the concrete should be solid enough to stand on by the end of the week, it will take another 20 days for it to harden completely, he said.

The old pool was excavated about a month ago and since then, underground piping was placed to serve the 25 features of the splash pad.

“The benefit of this is that it’s all above ground and there is no standing water so we can be more thoughtful about when the pool opens and we don’t have to worry about lifeguards,” he said. “The facility can stay open longer with less staffing.”

Though the bases of the 25 features are installed, they won’t be bolted to the structure until the spring. In the meantime, work will continue over the winter on the landscape, interior renovations, the facade of the buildings and water feature installations, said Concord Public Information Officer Stefanie Breton.

“This project has been part of our capital improvement program for some time as the former shallow pool had reached the end of its service life and needed replacement,” Breton said.

The construction of the splash pad cost the Parks and Recreation Committee $650,000 while the renovation of the kiddie pool would have cost an estimated $550,000.

Despite the additional cost, Mayor Jim Bouley said in April that the splash zone would be more beneficial to the space because it would decrease the number of staff required and would be able to stay open longer than other city pools.

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