It takes a lot of planning and careful coordianting to build a brand new school on the same property of an exisiting high school, but the Snoqualmie Valley School District is proving it is possible.
In anticipation, District administrators have been forewarning students and parents since September to expect big changes in the coming year as it embarks on a $200 million, multi-year rebuild of aging, flood prone Mount Si High School. One of the first big steps is relocating the school’s front parking lot and main entrance so that the new facility can be built on this area of the property.
NEW Parking Lot, NEW main Entrance
When students return to school after winter break, many will be parking in the new, temporary gravel lot located on the south end of the property (near the shop/CTC building). Contractors had been working on the new parking lot since early Fall – and also working to grade the former baseball and softball field area, which will be the site of the new 355,000 sq. ft. school.
With the temporary parking lot complete, the current front parking lot will close – and like the baseball/softball field area – will also be graded to hold the foundation of the new school. With construction underway in the front of the school, the main entrance will shift to the rear of the school, near the attendance office and gazebo area.
Buses will also start loading and off-loading students on Schusman Ave near this entrance and new parking lot. Student drivers will enter the new lot on Meadowbrook Way. There also will be a drop off zone on Meadowbrook where students can access building entrances.
Critical Foundation Work begins
Meanwhile, out front crews will begin work to stabilize the soil that will hold the foundation of the new 3-story building with parking underneath, which is required to meet strict earthquake codes. The school’s proximity to the Snoqualmie River means the soil has silty/sandy layers deep beneath the surface which are prone to extra shifting during large earthquakes – so nearly 5,000 three-foot diameter, 50-foot deep holes will be drilled by a 200-ton crane and then filled with gravel as the drill is extracted.
The soil stabilizing foundational system, called ‘stone columns,’ be completed by spring and then construction of the new 2,300 student capacity school is expected to begin [on time] in April 2017. The majority of the new school will open in fall 2019, with the majority of the old school demolished at that point.
The last project components – the performing arts center, permanent parking lot, and relocated ball fields – are expected to be done in August 2020. The ball fields will be constructed in the location of the new, temporary parking lot and the school’s permanent parking lot will occupy much of the footprint of the old facility.
The Mount Si Rebuild project is being funded by the voter approved, $244 million school bond that passed in February 2015. For more information about the rebuild visit: SVSD’s Facilities & Planning page.
This video explains January 2017 Changes and Construction updates:
