LEWISTON – City crews are hoping to save some money doing the site work for a new gateway park on 49 Main St.

On Monday, crews began digging on the lot at the corner of Lincoln and Main streets, according to Public Services Director Chris Branch. The park itself should start taking shape early in September.

“We’ll hopefully move out of site work in the next two weeks,” Branch said. “Then the park will start to take shape.”

Original bids for construction came in about $200,000 over budget. That sent the city scrambling to find a way to get the park built.

Norm Beauparlant, director of budgeting and purchasing, said the city plans to finish the project within the $245,000 budget.

“We are doing the site preparations ourselves, and then acting as construction managers for the rest of the project,” Beauparlant said. “We’ll hire and bring in specialty workers as we need them. This is one of the few times we have actually acted as construction managers.”

City crews will handle the site work on the project and get individual bids for granite and curb work, concrete and decorative masonry, landscaping and building a fountain. Beauparlant said work is scheduled to wrap up near the end of October.

The city will do plantings around the park next spring.

Plans call for a pond, walkway and Lewiston sign. The park would be the first thing drivers crossing that bridge would see coming into Lewiston from Auburn.

The city took the land by eminent domain last year, originally paying owner Mickey Amlotte $160,000 for the property. The city increased its payment to $265,000 after Amlotte sued.

[email protected]