Improvements ongoing at Hendrickson Park

Poplar Bluff’s Hendrickson Park continues to see several improvements, which officials hope will create better access for visitors.

“It’s one of our most used parks, and there’s a lot of foot traffic there,” said Parks and Recreation Department Director Lanny Corcimiglia. “It’s got our walking trail through it, which connects the cemetery side all the way down to the backside of the junior high, and the pavilion is rented frequently.”

Improvements at Hendrickson Park over the last few months, Corcimiglia said, include a new gravel parking lot and several access bridges.

A new gravel parking lot and bridges off 13th Street now allow additional access to Hendrickson Park. DAR/Paul Davis

“It started a couple months ago when we installed the first bridge, which goes straight to the disc golf course,” Corcimiglia said.

That new bridge connects the east end of the main parking lot along Davis Street to the trail across the ditch, which leads to the increasingly popular disc gold course.

“There’s a new, big sign, which shows the whole layout of the course,” Corcimiglia said.

The new Davis Street bridge also will allow visitors to bypass the original bridge and busy pavilion area in a situation where it is crowded.

“If somebody has the pavilion rented, you can now park down at the new bridge and cross right there,” Corcimiglia said.

Two other new bridges and a gravel parking lot have been installed on the west side of the park, along 13th Street, Corcimiglia said, further increasing access.

The large parking lot, Corcimiglia said, is “a significant upgrade. If we have the pavilion rented and the main lot is full, we’ll still have parking available on that side.”

The first new bridge connects the new parking lot, just north of Davis Street on 13th, to the back side of the existing playground.

The other new bridge on the 13th Street side, Corcimiglia said, is about 100 yards north of the parking lot.

Besides the two new bridges on 13th Street, Corcimiglia said, an older one on that side also has been replaced.

“The replacement bridge sits between disc golf holes 13 and 14,” he said.

Park department maintenance crews, led by Steve Lawson, also have cleaned out the ditch, Corcimiglia said, and “some of the trees by the playground, which should provide better visibility.”

Crews currently are working on improvements to the bathroom and pavilion buildings.

Improvements will include new paint and updates, as well as fixing water leaks.

Another addition Corcimiglia hopes to see completed in the near future is the construction of a new pavilion in the park, and plans are for it to be located near the second, northernmost playground off the Davis Street side.

“I think it will be 20- by 20 feet,” Corcimiglia said.

The pouring of the concrete slab and the construction of the pavilion, he said, is dependent on the weather, but the project could be completed within a month.