Skanska has completed work at Skyline Regional Park in Buckeye, Ariz., that will enable residents and visitors to enjoy a new park.
Skanska, a construction and development firm, has completed work at Skyline Regional Park in Buckeye, Ariz., that will enable residents and visitors to enjoy a new park.
The $3.95-million project for the city of Buckeye included roadway construction, park features including entry gate house, entry gate monument and gates, ramadas, rest rooms and a pedestrian/equestrian bridge across the Skyline Wash. Skanska's work ranged from subgrade preparation and pipe and reinforced concrete box culverts to asphalt paving and landscaping. The city of Buckeye held a grand opening for Skyline Regional Park in early January.
“Skanska and their team provided seamless work, from beginning to end for Skyline Regional Park” said Christopher Williams, manager, construction and contracting division, for the city of Buckeye. “I look forward to working with them in the future.”
“There were a lot of moving parts to this project and we are gratified to see the end result, which will be enjoyed now and for generations to come,” said Chris Halpin, Skanska's Phoenix vice president. “The city of Buckeye and our partners were such important parts of the incredible teamwork necessary to create Skyline Regional Park and we thank them.”
The park, which features views from the top of its mountain ridges overlooking the valley floor toward downtown Phoenix and south toward the Gila River, also offers opportunities for hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and other passive recreation activities such as wildlife viewing and camping. New programs will be offered for families to enjoy, including stargazing, fitness hikes and informative programs on the many natural and cultural resources found in the park.
Robert Wisener, city of Buckeye conservation and projects manager, said the park features 6 mi. (9.66 km) of multi-use trails of varying difficulty and durations for use by hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians:
• Turnbuckle Trail is a 3-mi. (4.83 km) loop offering impressive views of the mountain landscape and south towards the Watson Road corridor.
• The summit trail — Valley Vista Trail — is a third of a mi. trail off Turnbuckle that climbs 270 ft. (82.3 m) for a total of 800 ft. (243.8 m) elevation gain from the trailhead. From this vantage, visitors can see west towards the Sun Valley Parkway and the power plant in Tonopah and the skyscrapers in downtown Phoenix to the east.
• Mountain Wash Trail is aptly named as it hugs Mountain Wash, a 1-mi. (1.6 km) trail from the trailhead climbing 400 ft. (122 m), connecting with Lost Creek Trail that leads to Verrado's temporary trail system.
• Wisener added that over the next eight months, an additional 11 mi. (17.7 km) of trails will be added to the system.
In July 2013, Skanska, which is active in both the building and civil construction markets, announced it had moved its building operations to 4742 North 24th St. in Phoenix, just south of Camelback Road. Skanska's civil construction unit, formerly located in Peoria, Ariz., has co-located with the building group at the 24th Street location.
Skanska USA is a large construction and development company in the United States, serving a broad range of clients including those in transportation, power, industrial, water/wastewater, healthcare, education, sports, data centers, government, aviation and commercial. Headquartered in New York with offices in 33 metro areas, it has more than 9,600 employees committed to being leaders in safety, project execution, sustainability, ethics and people development, according to the company.
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