Photo by Erin Nelson.
Construction is underway at Wald Park on the Miracle Field Foundation project along Montgomery Highway in Vestavia Hills.
Due to the unforeseen discovery of dangerous, unsecured power lines buried underneath the fields at Wald Park, the new baseball fields will not be ready in time for the spring baseball season, the city of Vestavia Hills announced in a Facebook post on Friday afternoon.
"City staff and elected officials met with TCU reps this afternoon to tour the Wald Park and Cahaba Heights Park job sites. Due to the discovery of an unforeseen major electrical issue at Wald, it is not possible to have the ballfields completed in time for this years spring baseball season. In light of this news, City staff have identified other field spaces that can be utilized along with the fields at Liberty Park this season, including fields at the new Pizitz and Dolly Ridge campuses, as well as space at Hoover East.
Now for the good news ... The pools and pool complex are still on schedule to be completed no later than May 22 – just in time for Memorial Day weekend! Cahaba Heights Park is also still on schedule ... actually a bit ahead of schedule!"
The city's communications director, Cinnamon McCulley, said when crews started excavating five inches of soil at the park, which is being renovated as part of the Community Spaces Plan, their machinery began picking up 480-volt power lines that were not enclosed, a major safety concern. Thankfully, power had been shut off to the entire park before the work began.
McCulley said power ran from U.S. 31 to a junction box onsite, which then "spidered out" to the old baseball fields. Power lines were not secured in the junction box, either.
The lines have been removed and a new electrical plan has been developed for the park, but with the plan and subsequent having to pass inspections and meet requirements, the field will likely be ready, at the earliest, in early May, after baseball season, McCulley said.
New power lines will be enclosed in a conduit and will be at least 18 inches under the ground, McCulley said. The pool project is not affected by the change, she said.
