The support tower for the new Marshall Aquatic Center’s water slides is under construction. The new tower is about 40 feet tall, putting it 10 feet taller than the current Aquatic Center’s slide tower.

MARSHALL — It’s the middle of winter, but that hasn’t stopped work on the new Marshall Aquatic Center. Over the past week, a 40-foot tower and supports for water slides has taken shape at the construction site.

“It timed well with the nice weather we’ve been having,” Marshall Parks and Recreation Superintendent Preston Stensrud said. Stensrud said construction of the slide tower has attracted attention from members of the public. “We knew it would create excitement, because you can see it and it’s tall.”

On Tuesday, workers could be seen assembling parts of an orange tube slide, one of three different slides planned for the center.

Materials for the support tower and water slides arrived in Marshall the week of Jan. 5. “The first trailers started arriving last Monday,” Stensrud said. “There were 12 semi loads in total, for the slide and the slide tower itself.”

Installation was planned to take about three weeks. Installation crews are assembling segments of the slides on the ground before lifting them into place, he said.

The new slide tower is about 40 feet tall, which is 10 feet taller than the slide at the current Marshall Aquatic Center, Stensrud said. It will support a total of three slides, including the orange tube slide, which will end in the center’s leisure river feature. A second slide, the FlyTyme slide, will end in the center’s deep-water pool. The third slide will have a runout area on the pool deck, Stensrud said.

Once the slide tower and slides are installed, there are still some features like shade structures that will need to be added, Stensrud said.

Stensrud said other work on the Aquatic Center is also ongoing, but is less visible. Inside buildings on the site, crews are continuing tasks like plumbing, heating and mechanical work. A lot of the plumbing, electric and HVAC work has been completed, he said. Contractors are also painting the interiors of the new center’s locker rooms, Stensrud said. That work is expected to be completed by the end of the week.

“We’re progressing really nicely,” he said. Other items that will be installed include windows and storefronts.

The goal for the new aquatic center is to open mid-summer.