Work on San Juan College bike park expected to begin in spring, be complete by mid-summer
Work is set to commence this spring on projects that will greatly enhance a mountain biking park located just south of the San Juan College main campus in Farmington.
College officials awarded a $400,000 contract to the American Ramp Company in October 2023 to construct a new pump track at the site at the northwest corner of East 30th Street and College Boulevard. A building containing bathrooms also is planned for the site, although a construction contract for that project hasn’t been awarded yet, according to Chris Harrelson, the college’s physical plant director. That project is budgeted at $200,000.
The $600,000 being spent on the track and restrooms comes from two sources. The college secured $500,000 as part of a $7 million bond issue for a variety of projects at the college that was approved by voters in November 2022. And in March 2023, the college received a $99,999 Outdoor Recreation Trails + grant from the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Outdoor Recreation Division.
Harrelson said college officials are working with American Ramp Company representatives on the design of the pump track, which will be paved. He said the track will include numerous fun and challenging elements.
The building featuring restrooms will be located near the entrance to the park, Harrelson said, and work on that project is expected to begin this spring, as well.
Both projects are scheduled for completion by the middle of summer, he said. The park will be open to the community.
Part of the 133-acre site already has been developed into a bike park through a partnership the college struck with Farmington Area Single Track, a local nonprofit cycling advocacy group. The addition of the pump track will add to the park’s offerings, but much of the site will remain undeveloped, leaving plenty of room for the park to grow in the years ahead when additional funding sources can be identified, Ed DesPlas, the college’s executive vice president, has said.
Chris Conley, the president of FAST, said he is excited about the prospect of work finally beginning on the two projects.
“This is something we’ve been working with the college on for three years, trying to make this happen,” he said.
The paved pump track will be the only such facility in northwest New Mexico, he said, and is likely to attract cycling enthusiasts from around the region.
“It’s definitely going to pull some people from Durango (Colorado),” he said. “I think it’s really going to be a great addition for the bike park. We’re definitely excited to get that.”
Conley said his own organization continues to make improvements to the park and will be working on building a dual slalom course this spring so that it is ready this summer when the other park additions are completed.
Jon Bentz, the director of the Health and Human Performance Center at San Juan College, said the bike park will be institution’s largest fitness facility aside from the HHPC.
When it is completed, the park will serve as an addition to the growing list of bike parks in San Juan County. Farmington officials have plans to develop a 93-acre site on the city’s north side into the Juniper Basin Recreation Area into a biking and hiking destination. The city already has received an approximately $100,000 grant to begin work on the first 10 acres of the project, although construction is not expected to commence this year. Eventually, the park will include a tot track, a pump track, skills courses, drop jumps and adaptive trails for bikes used by riders with disabilities.
In October 2021, San Juan County officials unveiled the first phase of the East Glade Trailhead Skills Park north of the city, a project that was built in partnership with the Bureau of Land Management. That $700,000 project features ramps, hills, berms and other features three trails of varying difficulty, as well as a children’s area.
Dozens of mountain biking trails are scattered elsewhere throughout the county.
Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.
This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Bond money, state grant covering cost of $600,000 cycling project
