Cary to break ground on new park

Cary officials will break ground Tuesday on a new 16-acre park in west Cary.

Thanks to a private funding, the park also will include a memorial for American Eagle Flights 3378 and 3379, which crashed in Cary in 1988 and 1994, respectively. The park sits about a mile from where Flight 3379 crashed.

The memorial will consist of a semi-circular terrace with two long sloping walls aligned in the flight direction of each crash, a press release says. Five trees in the middle will represent the survivors of Flight 3379. The trees at the back of the memorial are for the 27 people who died in both crashes. All 12 passengers on Flight 3378 died, while 15 people died on Flight 3379.

The park project will cost about $2.9 million for planning, design and construction. It's expected to be finished in winter 2015. The funding was approved by Cary voters in 2012 as part of the Community Investment Bonds referendum.

The groundbreaking is open to the public at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday. Guests are asked to park at 1580 Morrisville Carpenter Rd. where a police patrol will help people cross the street. The land is pretty swampy so dress appropriately.