ALTOONA, Iowa – This week the City of Altoona announced that the splash pad being built in Haines Park would be done ahead of schedule. The reason — the unseasonably warm November has enabled more work to be done. In this case, the splash pad will be done in plenty of time for the summer heat.

“With this great fall weather, our construction season has really been able to extend longer than maybe it normally would,” said Rachel Simon, communication specialist for the city of Altoona. “Here at Haines Park in Altoona, we are installing a new splash pad. This weather has been great, it’s got us way ahead of schedule so that now we are very confident we’ll be able to have the splash pad ready to go for residents in the spring or summer of next year. “

Workers building the project with a contractor from Muscatine said they are glad to be ahead of schedule.

“We were expecting it to be colder out so with the nice weather I was able to push it to get it done sooner,” said Brandon Blomberg, of Henley Group Construction.

Blomberg said if it gets too cold, they can’t pour concrete for the project. If it does get cold, he will still be working outside, just at another project.

“So, just like this weather is helping us with our parks projects, like the splash pad here at Haines Park, it’s helping us stay on track for some of our major road construction projects,” said Simon. “Anybody who travels to Altoona frequently or lives in Altoona is very familiar that we’ve got construction going on, on 1st Avenue.”

That road is closed in both directions. It is the major connector from the heart of Altoona to Interstate 80.

“We’re just happy all around from the city perspective. We want projects done the correct way so that we have the best possible products for our residents here in Altoona,” said Simon “We do get very happy when we can announce that things are moving a little more quickly than they might have, thanks to the weather.”