NASHUA – During the next two years or so, officials with the Nashua Division of Public Works will work to update and repair the fields, walkways and playing facilities at Lincoln Park at the end of Greenlay Street.

On Tuesday, in the company of Alderwoman Jan Schmidt and members of Public Works, Mayor Jim Donchess announced the plan to flatten and repair the park in a move that will improve what many describe as a “gem” of the neighborhood.

The park was built on top of a landfill in 2004. It has seen considerable soil settling, creating problems to many of the playing surfaces, the playground and walkways used by those in the Broad Street neighborhoods.

Donchess said it was time to address the park so that it can be used to its full capacity in the foreseeable future – at least the next 15 to 20 years.

“The fields are well cared for – it’s just the settling, which is getting worse every year,” Donchess said. “You can see the difference from one year to the next.”

The settling of the capped landfill has also caused many of the fields and walkways to sink, causing the pavement to buckle and the playing surfaces and grass fields to collect water in certain areas. Donchess said those issues will be fixed by adding fill on top of those areas.

“As you can see, with the way that the landfill has settled, there are areas that are uneven,” Donchess said. “We will fix that by adding fill to level out the surface.”

Another one of the issues Donchess pointed out was the poor drainage on the playground due to the settling of the landfill, which has also caused the structures to be raised as a result of the fill running off due to rain and wet weather.

With the lack of fill and the settling, pieces of equipment such as the red jungle gym dome have their concrete foundation showing, creating safety hazards for the children utilizing the playground.

Nashua Parks and Recreation Superintendent Nicholas Caggiano said the process will in spring. Officials will work on the playground area, which will receive a new cushion surface, similar to the one at Legacy Park on Cleveland Street.

After a break to allow the sports leagues to utilize the park for their seasons, officials will spend the summer working to fix the sum of the fields.

“So, there will be two phases. The first will be working to fix the top section where the playground is,” Caggiano said. “The second phase will be to address the playing fields.”

While the project is in being completed, Donchess said the playground, while receiving surface upgrades, will also get new equipment for children to play. He said this will be discussed during a public forum at some point soon.

Mathew Plamondon may be reached at 594-1244, or at mplamondon@nashuatelegraph.com, @telegraph_MatP.