Luther Burbank Park Sport Courts Renovation

Good news! The courts are now open for play!

FieldTurf built the new concrete sidewalk and finished grading the south slope last week. On Wednesday, they reduced the construction zone to the perimeter around the slope, which will remain covered throughout the winter and restored next year before the permanent court surfacing is installed.

Temporary rules have been posted on-site and online. Over the next few months, staff will monitor court usage and adjust facility rules as needed. The City will install permanent signage at the same time the acrylic surfacing is applied.

This Let’s Talk page will also stay live, and staff will update it as needed with upcoming construction dates and other project details.

Thank you to the community for your support of this project as well as your patience while the project team worked to successfully complete this renovation.

Get your paddles ready! Beynon Sports finished installing the pickleball nets and court fencing this week, and staff are working on final details to open the facility for play this month.

Outstanding items include:

• Completing the south hill – FieldTurf anticipates finishing the grading work this week and will secure it with plastic sheeting for the winter. The City’s Parks team will restore the hill with groundcover next spring.
• Installing the new concrete access path from the parking lot – This item is weather-dependent, so the City may choose to open the courts before this item is finished.
• Cleaning the courts – Beynon power-washed the courts this week, and they will be leaf-blown before FieldTurf demobilizes.
• Placing rules signage – The City plans to use temporary signage through the winter and will modify the facility rules if necessary before permanent signage is installed in the spring.

View construction photos here.

The pickleball courts are starting to take shape! Beynon Sports has striped temporary lines for eight new pickleball courts as well as installed net and fence posts. Next week, they will add the nets and fence fabric while FieldTurf finishes grading the hillside and installing the new concrete walkway from the parking lot.

View construction photos here.

Northwest Asphalt was able to take advantage of good weather this week and completed paving corrections, which was completed at no cost to the City and included:

• Removing layers of asphalt with a milling machine;
• Patching the northeast and southeast corners, where asphalt was removed down to the subgrade; and
• Overlaying the entire surface with a new layer of hot mix asphalt (HMA).

Today, City staff, DA Hogan, and FieldTurf conducted a new flood test to confirm court planarity. The test indicated that the new paving work was successful, so the last pieces of this construction phase can be completed. Next, Beynon Sports will install temporary striping, pickleball nets, and facility fencing, and FieldTurf will finish rebuilding the gravel path from the restrooms, grading the south hill, and installing the new concrete walkway from the parking lot.

Once these elements are done and DA Hogan and the City have inspected the work, the courts will open for play. View construction photos here.

The site has been quiet this week due to weather. Staff anticipate Northwest Asphalt will return next week during a dry weather window to make paving corrections. Once paving work is complete, final items, including installing temporary court markings and grading the southside hill, will wrap up. View construction photos here.

Investigation of court planarity continued this week. City staff, DA Hogan, FieldTurf, Northwest Asphalt, and Beynon, the subcontractor handling court surfacing, met on Tuesday to perform the string test and discuss options for correcting the asphalt ridges. Northwest Asphalt will also return later this week or early next week to paint test lines on the courts to assess the aesthetics of the ridges.

While a preferred paving correction is identified, FieldTurf continues to address other items, including:

• Finishing the new perforated drain on the south edge of the courts
• Regrading and rebuilding the existing gravel path from the restrooms to center court, which will connect to the new concrete sidewalk from the parking lot

View construction photos here.

Earlier this week, Northwest Asphalt placed the second pavement lift, and the project team conducted the flood test to check court drainage and planarity. Drainage performed as planned, but more testing is necessary to confirm court planarity.

During the flood test, the team found a few high ridges along the paving seams. Finding ridges is common for sport court paving, and there are options for correcting the ridges before the acrylic surfacing is installed in spring 2025. Next week, the team will conduct a string test, which involves pulling a string across the north/south length of the courts and walking it east/west to observe where the slope may be high or low. After the string test, staff, DA Hogan, and the construction team will identify the best correction plan.

As a reminder, the courts need to cure for a few weeks before new pickleball nets and temporary striping are installed. While the courts cure, FieldTurf will complete other items, including finishing the new perforated drain on the south edge, building the new access path, and grading the south hillside. Additionally, the contractor will make improvements to the existing gravel path that leads from the play area restrooms to the courts.

This project remains on track, and the courts are still anticipated to open for play later this month. View construction photos here.

Northwest Asphalt completed the first lift of paving on Tuesday and will return soon to correct some high and low spots, which is typical for asphalt work. Staff anticipate the second lift and flood test to confirm planarity will be completed next week. Then the new pavement will cure for a couple weeks while FieldTurf turns back to other items, including:

• Finishing the new drain pipe on the south border;
• Installing new court fencing; and
• Starting the finishing work for the south hill and new access path.

This project remains on track, and the courts are still anticipated to open for play in October. View construction photos here.

Here’s a look at progress since last week and upcoming construction activities.

Subgrade Remediation

Excavation of the existing subgrade is complete, and City staff anticipate all new subgrade material will be placed by early next week.

On Monday, the project team proof-rolled the base aggregate layer to ensure it will be strong enough to pave. A super solo dump truck hauling 10 yards of pea gravel and weighing approximately 35 tons total drove back and forth across the base while AESI assessed the impact. Only one small area needed to be strengthened after the proof roll, which is good news for the remediation work. DA Hogan inspected the base subgrade on Tuesday and approved moving forward with finishing the subgrade remediation.

Now FieldTurf is placing the final layers of rock material, which DA Hogan will inspect early next week.

New Perforated Drain Pipe for South Edge

As part of the new scope of work, FieldTurf is replacing an old drain pipe installed on the south border of the facility. The new pipe will catch groundwater draining off the hillside and help the Parks Operations team maintain the courts.

Upcoming Work: Paving and Planarity Test

Once the top subgrade layer is inspected and approved by DA Hogan, the project will move onto paving. Northwest Asphalt, the subcontractor handling paving, will install asphalt in two lifts. Following paving, the project team will conduct a flood test to confirm the planarity, or relative smoothness, of the court surface to ensure the asphalt install is consistent.

The best method for confirming court planarity is to conduct a flood test, which involves flooding the courts with 1” to 2” of water, then observing how the water drains/evaporates. If water pools in any areas, those areas are uneven and may be adjusted before construction is complete. This is a critical quality control step to ensure that the courts are constructed correctly and to avoid major repair or reconstruction needs in the future.

This project remains on track, and the courts are still anticipated to open for play in October. View construction photos here.

Excavation of the existing subgrade continued this week. FieldTurf is removing old material in sections, then backfilling with new crushed rock to build the stronger base for paving. As the contractor works from east to west, we are seeing the excavation depth to reach strong soils decrease, which City staff anticipated based on the subgrade tests performed by AESI in July. Subgrade remediation will continue through next week, weather-permitting.

This project is back on track, and the courts are currently planned to reopen for play in October. View construction photos here.