LEWISTON – The new Gateway Park at the western entrance to the city will be officially dedicated Tuesday afternoon.

Crews were out Monday, testing the jets on the fountain that will grace the new park at the corner of Lincoln and Main streets.

Public Services Director Chris Branch said work on the park is mostly finished. Crews will plant some perennial flower bulbs in the fall and some trees could go in next spring.

“This isn’t a place to congregate, but for a few people at a time to stop by.” Branch said. “It’s just designed to say, Welcome to Lewiston.'”

The dedication ceremony, led by Mayor Lionel C. Guay Jr., is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Work began on the park last August and the city planned to have it finished in the fall. Original bids came in about $570,000, Branch said. The city only budgeted $245,000 for the work, however, so councilors decided to have city crews do the work. In the end, the project wound up costing $390,000, Branch said.

“We managed to shave off about $180,000 acting as our own general contractor,” he said.

The park will be the first thing drivers crossing Longley Bridge from Auburn will see.

“The vision for this project has resulted in a very warm and wonderful way to greet people who cross the Longley Bridge entering the City of Lewiston,” said City Administrator Jim Bennett. “This is indeed a very positive first step towards what will certainly become the continued rehab of the western gateway.”

The site is the former home of Captain Morgan’s tattoo parlor and the Lewiston House of Pizza. The city took the land by eminent domain in 2002, agreeing to pay property owner Mickey Amlotte $265,000.