With first day looming, school construction on target

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

With the countdown to the first day of school in Bigfork now a matter of days rather than weeks, construction crews are putting the finishing touches on a summer of work before kids arrive on September 8.

Crews spent much of the last two weeks paving the revamped approach to the school as well as getting the parking lot back in ship shape after a summer of using it as a staging area. Interior work, including walling off areas that will remain under construction has also been part of the job.

"We're still on target," said Bigfork School Superintendent Russ Kinzer. "But we still have a major cleanup job to do."

One of the biggest concerns in the run-up to the start of school has been completion of the new cafeteria in the elementary school, a structure that was barely framed a month ago. As of the end of last week, crews were installing equipment and cabinetry in the new kitchen and were expected to be fully finished before the doors open to students.

"Between the construction manager Hammerquist and Caselegno and Architects West, they have done a real fine job of accelerating the entire process," Kinzer said.

The final bell had barely rung in the spring when crews descended on the elementary school, anxious to get started with only three months before classes resumed.

"For being on site for seven weeks, we've done fairly well," Construction Manager Mark Caselegno said.

Time has been of the essence in the project ever since the $5.5 million bond for the expansion and renovation of the elementary and middle schools passed last fall. A similar, though more pricey, bond for the high school failed twice during the last school year.

The elementary school bond did include money specifically earmarked for the school "site," which paid for the parking lot, ingress/egress overhaul for both schools. That also included landscaping, though Kinzer said some areas were being deliberately left without landscaping because of interest put forth by student and community groups for service project opportunities.

Kinzer said parents who drop off their children should be aware that the new turn-in lane specifically for drop-off begins along Commerce Street immediately East of the intersection with Grand Drive. That lane allows parents to drive right up to the new entrance of the elementary school for drop-off. Parking is also available in front of the elementary school and the high school for parents who might wish to walk their children in on the first day.

"People need to be very alert to the new traffic flow patterns," Kinzer said, noting the elementary school and high school both have their own entrances and exits now. The high school lot can still exit onto Commerce directly or via the loop drive behind the school.

Children who ride the bus to school will also have to negotiate a few changes. Some construction on the south side of the building will still be going, so there is no access to the elementary school from that side. Kinzer said there will be a fenced walkway for children to use that will wrap between the elementary and high schools so they can enter on the north side of the building. He said chaperones would be on hand to help younger students acclimate to the change.

The first week of school will include a series of drills for students and teachers to learn the evacuation routes in case of fire or other emergency, Kinzer said. Middle school Pricipal Wayne Loeffler is a captain in the Bigfork Fire Department and Kinzer said would likely bring in a fire marshall to help oversee the drills.

New evacuation routes have already been approved by the state building inspector, according to Kinzer, who said the inspector toured the new construction in August and either approved or helped design changes to the emergency routes.

Final touches to routes around the school, including safety fencing, are scheduled to go up later this week and Kinzer said construction would either halt or be severely curtailed on the first day of school to help minimize confusion.

While the construction targets for the beginning of school have been met, work will continue at the elementary school for months, as crews do finishing work outside in the lead-up to winter and move inside to complete the project once cold weather sets in.

Kinzer said the target date for total completion of the project remains sometime in March.