River valley bike park further delayed until next year following rainy summer

A new bike park that was supposed to open in Edmonton this summer has been delayed until next year.

Heavy rain over the summer is once again the culprit of delays impacting the opening of a bike park in Edmonton’s river valley.

The park was initially scheduled to open July 25 but was first delayed to Sept. 5.

Construction of the $1.2-million project, spearheaded by members of the Edmonton Mountain Bike Alliance, began in mid-August of last year.

Project co-chair Matt Edwards said record-breaking rain seen from May through July has delayed construction by about seven weeks as they had to wait for the ground to dry before continuing work.

“As we went along, we considered opening it up on the September long weekend, but we realized that we weren’t close enough to having everything done that we’d want for a grand opening,” Edwards told CTV News Edmonton Tuesday. “We didn’t want to rush it … We want to make sure we do it right.”

Now, the group is looking for an opening date in mid-spring for the park that will include an asphalt surface pump track, several dirt jump lines, flow trails and skills areas.

The park is located east of the Walterdale Bridge in a wooded area on the south side of the North Saskatchewan River.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Darcy Seaton