Two years, 10 months and four days.

That’s how much time elapsed between the time the idea of building a permanent concrete skatepark for Thompson was addressed at a public meeting in September 2007 and the final stage of construction began on July 14.

That means, if all goes according to plan, wheels will clatter by the Norplex Pool before the three-year anniversary.

“Yes, the time had come to put the concrete and finish the thing!” said skatepark committee member Leslie Tucker in an email to skatepark supporters and volunteers July 14. “Contractors are in town now!”

“They estimate three weeks,” for the pouring of concrete, said Bruce Krentz, Thompson’s director of recreation, parks and culture last week, referring to the timeframe contractors had given him to complete the task.

But that doesn’t mean the park’s open in August.

Once the concrete is poured, it will require considerable time to dry and “cure” before it is ready for action.

“What will happen is they will do their thing and then we will need some volunteers to guard concrete for three to four weeks,” wrote Tucker. “Anything on the concrete before it is “set,” especially skateboards will ruin it. And we can’t have that!”

So look instead for a grand opening just before school starts. Or in the case of skateboarders, hope for it.

The long wait for the skatepark has come despite support from two levels of government for the cause.

Thompson city council approved $7,500 for the planning stage of the project in 2007, then agreed at their March 17, 2008 meeting to contribute $250,000 towards the facility’s construction, subject to the skatepark committee raising additional funds for the project.

That summer, on July 4, Thompson MLA Steve Ashton, then minister of intergovernmental affairs, announced that the skatepark would receive $60,000 from Neighbourhoods Alive!

By last summer, however, the project was still far from completion, and Krentz said much of the delay had to do with Mother Nature.

“We have been at the mercy of the weather on this skatepark project all summer and that story isn’t changing,” he said in September 2009, as contractor Smook Bros. and city crews prepared the site to receive prefabricated ramps from Barkman Concrete, which were delivered about a month later.

Despite the long wait, Tucker is still enthusiastic about having the project completed.

“Went to chat with concrete people, they’re great, they’re busy, it is a thing of beauty,” she said. “After this long, I’m thrilled to see this final work being done. It’s going to be so beautiful, the tennis and b-ball courts and skateboard park right beside our swimming pool. I think it has been a visionary project that has considerably expanded our city’s recreational and community-building capacity.”