The construction of a dog park in Dartmouth has proven to be more expensive than expected.

According to Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Tim Lancaster, bids for the construction of Dartmouth Dog Park, which is set to be constructed at the Dartmouth Regional Trails and Parks on Old Fall River Road, have come in “extremely high.”

“The only way we’re going to be able to build the dog park is to break it up into little pieces and do it ourselves,” said Lancaster at a meeting of the Board of Parks and Recreation Monday night.

In May, organizers from the non-profit Dartmouth Dog Advisory Work Group (DDAWG) said they'd hoped to have bids back for the construction by June. No bids were received the first time around, halting initial plans to have the park completed in the fall of this year.

Lancaster said that the different aspects of the park have made it difficult for one contractor to do all the work, hence the high price.

“With the fencing, earth work, electric, irrigation . . . it’s tough for someone that’s a general (contractor) to make any money,” he said.

He said he’d met with Director of Public Works Dave Hickox and Town Administrator David Cressman to discuss the project, and that engineering assistance from the town could help move the project along.

“If we can get DPW to assist us in engineering the layout, then I can (get the different parts of the work done individually),” he said.

Lancaster said he’s in the process of asking Eversource (formerly NSTAR) to install a wire down the road to the site that way there would at least be power on site when construction commences.

The town has already approved the park, and a private donor has pledged over $213,000 to construct it with another $36,700 coming in Community Preservation funding.

Plans for the park, which is to be located near the handicapped accessible picnic area at the current facility, include a fenced-in area consisting of a substance called rice stone that allows for easy filtration.

Only dogs who have received required inoculations will be permitted to the keycard-accessible park. Residents would have access to the park and its facilities with a minimal fee available through the Parks and Recreation department.

There would also be agility elements for the dogs such as boulders, benches and balance beams.

Some excavation would have to take place at the site with about an acre of trees to be removed.