ARVADA — After removing 200,000 cubic yards of dirt, cutting down or relocating more than 500 trees and installing a new splash pad and picnic pavilion, Arvada this week pulled down the construction fences on long-awaited Ralston-Central Park.

And the response was immediate.

By late morning Tuesday, dozens of residents had mobbed the new playground under blazing blue skies, pushing children on swings and coaxing them down slides. Because of popular demand, the splash pad opened Wednesday — three days earlier than planned.

The official dedication of Ralston-Central Park is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday.

“The playground is definitely awesome,” said Craig Mills, a six-year Arvada resident who was at the park with his 2-year-old daughter. “What’s here, we’re really happy with. It’s much, much better than what was here before.”

Formerly known as North Jeffco Park, the 20-acre site at the corner of Ralston Road and Garrison Street once boasted an ice rink and a swimming pool, both of which were removed. In all, the park was closed for nearly three years for its makeover.

But Mike Lee, Arvada’s manager of park and urban design, said the long construction period wasn’t used just to update park amenities.

“What a lot of people didn’t understand is that it was two projects — starting with the drainage and bridge project,” Lee said.

The drainage project lowered the grade of the park by 4 feet, pulling a number of houses on the north side of the park out of the floodplain.

A box culvert under Garrison Street was replaced with a 100-foot-long bridge to allow easier flow of Ralston Creek during heavy rains.

“We designed the park for a 100-year flood,” said Patrick Dougherty, special-projects manager with Arvada’s public works department.

Ralston-Central Park, he said, got an early test of its capabilities in September, when historic floods hit the Front Range.

The heavy earthwork had been completed, and large boulders had been put in place along the creek’s banks.

“We were glad that the work was done before the big flood,” he said. “We could have had more homes inundated with water.”

Not everyone was pleased with the park’s transformation, which cost the city more than $11 million. Mark Wachter and Lilli Alban, approaching the playground with their child in tow earlier this week, said they miss the ice rink and swimming pool. And they didn’t think the new playground measured up to the old.

“It was a long time to wait for very little,” Alban said.

John Aguilar: 303-954-1695, jaguilar@denverpost.com or twitter.com/abuvthefold

Dedication ceremony

When: 2 to 5:30 p.m., Saturday

Where: Ralston Road and Garrison Street