Wheeling splash pad construction hits a snag but will be worth the wait

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) — You’ve walked through one at the Four Seasons Pool in Moundsville, and now it’s almost time for Wheeling to get its very own splash pad.

While the installation has hit a few construction snags, it won’t just be a way to cool off at Heritage Port…and the city says it will be worth the wading.

The installation is going up just outside of WesBanco Arena on Water Street.

But City Manager Robert Herron says ‘splash pad’ may not be quite the right term, because its lights will shine bright even when the leaves come off the trees.

Supply chain issues and a careful digging process have pushed its opening back.

Herron says electric and water lines running to and from the arena make excavation difficult.

The goal of the project is to create a display that will outlast the summer as a downtown art installation.

It’s not a traditional splash pad that you would see at a swimming pool. This is more of a decorative artsy type of splash pad where the water jets will be synchronized, they’ll be lights. Certainly you can walk in it if you want, but it’s not something where you go to the beach and play at a splash pad.”

Robert Herron, Wheeling City Manager

The city will be able to change the color of the lights and the pattern of the jets, depending on what’s going on at Heritage Port.

Herron says he expects it to be on well into October and even early November, so you’ll have plenty of time to splash around once it opens in the middle of August.

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