COOS BAY — Coos Bay skaters can’t wait to try out the more challenging features of the city’s new skate park. But the workers shaping the bowls and obstacles in Mingus Park have faced a string of challenges of their own. 

The site’s difficult terrain has forced them to build above ground rather than simply digging into the hillside. And volunteers have become scarce in recent weeks, further slowing the process.

The new challenge that may bump back the completion date is the prospect of rain.

“It’s all weather-dependent now,” said Steve Doty, operations administrator in Coos Bay’s public works and development department.

When the work began in July, officials expected to complete the 3,000-square-foot facility by the end of summer.

As of Wednesday, workers were trying to finish the bottom of the larger bowl, though Doty said an impending storm front makes it unlikely the work will be done this week.

Workers also need to put coping — the top layer of a masonry wall, usually sloped to carry off water — on the top of both bowls, a retaining wall on the Eighth Street side of the project and two runs.

Part of the reason for the longer construction period is because the city couldn’t dig down to create the bowls. A low water table and underground pipes running underneath the site made such a plan untenable, Doty said.

“We’ve been building everything up rather than down,” he said.

The other challenge has been getting volunteers.

The city hired eight temporary workers, as part of the $67,000 budget for the project.

The city had a lot of people fill out volunteer forms. Some helped during the summer, though that support has dwindled recently, Doty said.

“We just haven’t seen them,” he said.

Four people were at the site Wednesday, working on the sky bridge and cradle in the larger of the two bowls.

Jason Schomaker, who designed the park and is overseeing construction, said he expects the park won’t be completely finished until spring.

He said concrete work could be done within a couple of months, but other things, like landscaping and finishing touches, will take longer.

Chris Owen, owner of the Concrete Pirate Skate Shop and Citizens for Bay Area Youth leader, said some skaters are impatient with the delay.

But Sid Wilbur is not one of them. He can’t wait to try out the cradle once the park’s done, but he understands the challenges the workers face.

The 16-year-old said he has invested at least 35 volunteer hours, putting down land fill, helping place rebar and smoothing out concrete.

“I can’t wait ’til it’s done,” he said.

Doty said he can’t say when the work will be finished, but he does know it will be done right.

“It won’t be the largest park on the coast, but it will be one of the nicest,” he said.