September 3, 2019 3:30 a.m.
The Douglas County Public Works Department is beginning the construction and installation of 2 new restroom facilities at River Forks Park, 3 miles west of Roseburg on Tuesday.
To construct the new restrooms, crews will close down and remove 2 of the 3 restroom facilities inside the park. The 2 restrooms that will be closed are adjacent to the upper playground, fort and whale area, and the East restroom facility located by the all-inclusive lower playground. The restroom facility near the boat ramp will not be closed or removed. In addition, temporary restroom facilities will be installed near the 2 current restroom locations during the construction project.
A release from the County said the project is the next phase of park improvements for River Forks Park that started with the replacement of the playground facilities over the last several years. Guido Construction of Roseburg was awarded the contract and will be working on this phase of the park improvement. The new restroom facilities are expected to be open before Christmas this year.
The release said “Willie the Whale” and “Baby Whale” have migrated to a safe location during construction of the new West restroom facility. The whale will receive some much-needed structural repairs, and then next spring it will be placed on an updated pad adjacent to the new upper restroom, fort and playground area.
Construction will limit access to areas of the park where work is taking place.