Buy PhotoGARY SEWELL / HERALD DEMOCRAT
The recently completed entry drive will welcome students, employees and visitors to the new Denison High School once it is completed. Approximately 90 percent of the site paving has been completed.
Buy PhotoGARY SEWELL/HERALD DEMOCRAT
Crews continue construction at the site of the new Denison high school on Wednesday.
In just a few short weeks, structural steel and masonry will break the skyline at the site of the new Denison High School as crews go vertical with the construction. With the main building foundation approximately 75 percent complete, visible work on the structural elements is expected to begin at the end of November, said Balfour Beatty Senior Project Manager Darren Lee.
Lee gave the Denison School Board an update on the progress of the construction during the Board meeting this week. He said the classroom wing slab is approximately 67 percent complete; site paving, approximately 90 percent; and site utilities, 95 percent. Construction on the site retaining walls has begun as well.
Over the next month, planned projects include: completing the classroom wing slabs, beginning structural steel in classroom wing, completing grade beam installation in the athletics wing and fine arts and vocational wing, backfilling and waterproofing of the basement wall, completing the site paving package, continuing work on the retaining walls at athletic fields, beginning foundation work at indoor athletic complex, and beginning structural masonry at athletic areas.
“We’re right where we planned on being,” Lee said.
Assistant Superintendent Lee McNair said workers are still doing a few punch-list items at the elementaries, but he said he hopes the projects will be closed out by December. The district, however, is expecting to add a few new projects to the elementaries. They include paint and tile work at Mayes and Lamar elementary schools to unify the transitions between new and old sections, and air conditioning for the gyms at the Terrell and Houston elementaries.
The HVAC work was included in the bond that voters approved in 2011, but was overlooked during later planning. The transition work at Mayes and Lamar is an issue that was identified in September by the Bond Oversight Committee.
“It’s a smaller package, and we’re encouraging local vendors to bid on it,” said Project Architect Steve Hulsey.
Bidding is currently on-going and the Board is planning to review the guaranteed maximum price at a special meeting at noon Dec. 6.
To download a copy of the digital slide show and construction pictures that were presented to the Board, find this article at http://www.heralddemocrat.com.
