Ruder project delayed a week after foreman gets coronavirus

A construction project at Ruder Elementary was stopped for a week recently after a foreman working on the project tested positive for coronavirus after he got sick, Dow Powell, the school’s construction representative told the board Monday night.

Powell said the foreman apparently caught the virus from a family member. Swank Enterprises, the firm doing the remodeling work on the building, immediately shut down the project last week and had the entire crew tested, as per their protocols, Powell said.

None of the crew tested positive and have since gone back to work.

The foreman has recovered and will be able to come back to work Wednesday (today) Powell noted.

The contractor also disinfected the entire building and worksite.

Ruder is undergoing a major renovation that will add classrooms and other amenities and will join the two buildings together.

Outside of the coronavirus concerns, the project is going well, Powell noted. Foundations are in and crews have started framing in the school’s new entrance.

In other construction related news, the new athletic fields are progressing well, though Powell suggested the school install a fence on the north end.

He noted that some neighbors were concerned about balls flying into their yards. Others needed access to their backyards. Even though it was school property, they’ve had that access for decades and the school planned to accommodate them as much as possible.

On the Glacier Gateway Elementary side, Powell showed the board the plan for the new school. The plan is for a Y-shaped building, with the entrance in the crook of the Y.

That project should go out to bid in January.