Sep 1, 2017 By Mike Jones 2 min read

The summer thaw of the Mt. Lebanon Ice Center is about to end.

The municipal ice rink is set to reopen to the public Sept. 5 after renovations were made to facility to thaw a permafrost that had formed beneath the surface and install new mechanisms to prevent it from happening again.

The $1.74 million project was completed a month earlier than expected and just $15,000 over the original budget, according to David Donnellan, the director of the township’s Department of Recreation.

The work was necessary when municipal officials noticed in early 2016 the surface of the studio rink, the smaller of the two rinks, had heaved, making the ground unstable. Officials were concerned the same could happen to the larger rink after the permafrost was discovered below the facility.

A new system was installed below the surfaces of the rinks to keep the ground from freezing. The renovations also upgraded the dasher boards around the rink, benches and rubber matting in the lobby that protects the surface from skates.

“In a rink like ours that operates all the time, you have a subfloor system that’s a ‘warm floor’ that basically keeps the ground from freezing since you have a frozen surface above,” Donnellan said.

The closure during the renovations, which began in March, allowed the rink’s workers to also paint “virtually the entire interior” of the facility, Donnellan said, making it more appealing to skaters.

“Things look a lot nicer and a lot brighter,” Donnellan said. “We’re open and programs are available online. We hope the community enjoys the improvements and look forward to being open again.”

The rink was expected to open this weekend for hockey clubs. It originally was supposed to reopen Oct. 1, but the contractor finished the work a month early.

The township earlier this year purchased an $8.8 million, 15-year bond to pay for those renovations, along with upgrades to the public works facility and to purchase a new pumper fire truck.