EAST PALESTINE — The $25 million project to renovate the East Palestine City Park will be completed in three phases instead of eight, Norfolk Southern said via an email.

The railroad said the project, which is currently one-year behind schedule and $3 million over budget, has “been consolidated from the original eight phases to three phases.”

When first announced, plans called for a timeline divided into six segments or phases to reduce interruption of the use of the park during construction. The number of phases was later bumped up to eight before the three-phase plan was implemented.

The three phases are:

— Phase 1 includes installation of new pickleball and sand volleyball courts, relocation and renovation of the tennis and basketball courts, improvements to the field areas, including grading the oval infield for youth soccer, additional parking around the dog park, lighting, sidewalks, and constructing a raised amphitheater near the new sport courts.

— Phase 2 includes construction of an olympic-size pool area and pool house, as well as demolition of existing sport courts and construction of a new pool house driveway.

— Phase 3 includes playground reconstruction, brick pavilion renovations and enhanced parking lot construction.

Groundbreaking for the project was held on July 13 with Phase 1 beginning soon after. During that ceremony, Norfolk Southern announced that the project would be complete a year earlier with all work complete by the end of 2026, but as the work lagged it became apparent that the target timeline wouldn’t be met.

The three-phase plan didn’t include a timeline as to when the final phase would start or finish, but the first phase is projected to be finished by June with Phase 2 set to begin shortly after. Phase 2 could take upwards of 300 days to complete and is expected to be finished by spring of 2027.

In order to stay within budget cuts will be made to the final phase. What stays and what goes from the original plans will be decided at the village’s discretion after feedback from the community.

In recent council meetings, village leaders voiced frustration in both budget and timeline complications, both of which the railroad attributed to settlement negotiations between the village and Norfolk Southern to settle all claims related to the 2023 train derailment. Work was paused on park designs during those discussions in which the village agreed to absorb a $3 million design fee that was not included in the initial budget of $25 million. Those talks pushed the completion date back and the terms pushed the budget past its cap.

Other external factors like weather and a protracted permit process from the state have also slowed the project.

Moving forward, Norfolk Southern said a project manager — Abigail Hopkins — will be onsite daily to keep the renovations and work on track and to serve as a point of communication between the village and the railroad regarding the project.