PORTSMOUTH — The new-and-improved Island Park Playground is nearly ready to dazzle young climbers and adventurers.

Last week workers were busy drilling big holes and taking measurements at the playground, getting it ready for the installation of brand new equipment that’s sure to thrill Portsmouth’s youngest adventurers.

Workers are leaving the popular train and a couple of other items, but two new “playscapes” are being installed — one for ages 2 to 5 and another for ages 5 to 12. There will be new swing sets, a “Double Bobble Spring Rider” for ages 2 to 5; and a “Chill Spinner,” “Curva Spinner,” and a “Fitcore Extreme Rope Climb” for ages 5 to 12.

“The old equipment was all rusted,” said Paul Rodrigues, deputy director of the Public Works Department. “All the decks were rusted and there were a lot of sharp edges and stuff on it, so it had to come out.”

There will also be all-new picnic benches, a walkway, and a table which will all be compliant with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), Rodrigues said.  

“We regraded the parking lot and put in a wheelchair-accessible spot in there,” he added.

The town purchased the equipment from Landscape Structures, which contracted out to Green Acres Construction for the installation, he said. Everything else, including the walkways and tables, were installed in house by DPW.

The playground in Island Park is not the only one in town that’s slated for improvements. “This was the oldest, so we decided to work on this one first, but we are going to doing the others,” Rodrigues said.

The equipment and installation cost about $141,000, and the picnic tables/bleachers, about $5,766. The costs are included in this year’s budget, which set aside $146,000 under parks and playgrounds in the Capital Improvement Plan.

Basketball court

DPW also made improvements to the basketball court adjacent to the playground, and increased its size from 75 by 39 feet to 84 by 50 feet.

“It took about a month by the time they ripped out the old one, put new gravel down, asphalted it, and then we let it cure before we put the posts up,” Rodrigues said. “They’re just waiting for warmer weather before they stripe it. It was all cracked, and it wasn’t the right length or width. Now it’s regulation.”

Work on the basketball court cost a little over $32,0000, which is coming from the town’s capital reserve fund.