Parkersburg residents Adriene Harper, left, and Gunner Loscar sit on a Gabion basket along the pond at Southwood Park Thursday. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

The second phase of the work, with a price tag of $107,417, is expected to be completed next week, Parkersburg Engineer Adam Stout said.

The first phase last year consisted of installing a number of Gabion baskets – metal mesh structures filled with rocks – around the edge of the pond “to give it a better edge … and make it not so steep when you’re trying to fish,” he said. That work cost approximately $178,000 and encircled about three-quarters of the pond.

The remaining Gabion baskets were added in this phase, which began earlier this month. Contractor RDR Utility Services Group is also installing a new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant sidewalk around the pond. It is replacing the wooden bridge and portions of the existing walkway.

City officials have also indicated plans to make similar improvements around the City Park pond. Stout said those are still on the drawing board.

An employee of RDR Utility Services Group moves dirt at Southwood Park Thursday as work continues to add an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant walkway around the pond. (Photo by Evan Bevins)

The pond’s water level has been lowered while the work is being done, but Stout said officials plan to raise it back up once this phase is completed. People could still fish in the pond.

Parkersburg residents Adriene Harper and Gunner Loscar were doing that Thursday afternoon.

“I think it looks pretty and looks good,” Harper said of the improvements.

Gabion baskets line the pond at Southwood Park Thursday afternoon. Baskets were installed around the pond, along with an upgraded walkway, in two phases funded by the City of Parkersburg for more than $280,000. (Photo by Evan Bevins)