PINEVILLE, La. – Louisiana National Guard engineers from Camp Beauregard in Pineville recently completed the first two phases of the Rapides Parish Fair Board construction of a parking lot for the new fairgrounds complex.
The on-the-job training gave the citizen soldiers the opportunity to develop their trade with heavy equipment operation, project planning and management, while working on the 16-acre tract of land on the campus of Louisiana State University at Alexandria.
“Both from a financial and a community involvement standpoint, having the Guard involved in this project was vital to us,” said Jimbo Thiels, Rapides Parish Fair Board president. “We could not have been able to get this project under way without their help.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the fair that has seen continued growth over the years. The current site of the fair near the Rapides Parish Coliseum lacked additional land for expansion, but the area near the LSU Ag Center was a natural location for the new space.
“We needed a new location due to the parish encroaching on the areas around the coliseum, and parking and future growth had become a problem,” Thiels continued. “We purchased the tract of land adjacent to the LSU Ag Center as it compliments what we do. This will allow us to have room for growth and expansion as well as a more modern facility with better viewing areas.”
Soldiers began the first two phases of the project in August and completed the project at the end of September.
“In phase one, we removed approximately 2,000 feet of trees and prepped the site for burn operations,” said 1st Lt. Mitchell W. Pabst, project safety officer. “Phase two involved the burning of the trees and debris. We also removed 700 cubic yards of concrete to an offsite location to be recycled and used for other projects in the parish and state.”
The project involved approximately 25 soldiers that used dump trucks and hydraulic excavators to crush, load and haul concrete off the project site.
“The hard work of our soldiers was evident as we completed our mission on time,” Pabst continued. “This is a strong testimony to the preparation and training by both the soldiers and the leaders.”
Phase three is a 13-acre asphalt parking lot that will be used to host fairs and major outdoor events in the future with more than 900 parking spaces and 17 RV hookups.
“Agriculture is important and vital to central Louisiana,” Thiels concluded. “Training our youth and our 4-H projects promotes and helps kids to stay involved in agriculture. The move on the fairgrounds near the Ag Center will allow for agriculture in this area to continue to prosper.”
| Date Taken: |
10.20.2010 |
| Date Posted: |
10.21.2010 10:26 |
| Story ID: |
58560 |
| Location: |
PINEVILLE, LOUISIANA, US |
| Web Views: |
64 |
| Downloads: |
5 |
PUBLIC DOMAIN
This work, Guardsmen clear ground for new fairgrounds: Phases one, two complete, by SFC Scott Longstreet, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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