FREEPORT

Lyndon Keck of PDT Architects gave the Regional School Unit 5 board his quarterly report on the Freeport High School building project Wednesday night at Mast Landing Elementary School, highlighting progress being made that perhaps isn’t so obvious.

“The status of the work is that we’re doing all the things that you’ll never see,” Keck said.

Keck said $140,000 was spent digging up what he termed “an enormous” sewer line that runs beneath the high school. Keck said the line ran between 10 and 15 feet beneath the building and it was a major undertaking uncovering the line.

Keck said steel piles had to be driven into the ground next to the gym to prevent the wall or floor collapsing.

“That work is now complete — I can sleep at night. It’s difficult work, it’s hard work,” Keck said, adding that Crooker Construction did a great job on that part of the project.

To make possible work on the sewer line easier in the future, Keck said the sewer line was encased in what he referred to as a straw. If there should be a failure in the line in the future, Keck said the old pipe can be removed from the sheath, repaired and placed back without major excavation.

Keck said moving the sewer line to go around the school was discussed, initially getting shot down by engineers. Once engineers figured a way of diverting the line, Keck said, it would have been too costly of a change to existing plans.

Keck said soils were also removed from the bus loop and more suitable gravel put in its place. He said the new material is more durable and doesn’t sink.

Keck said crews have also been doing a lot of foundation work, pouring concrete footings and foundations — a difficult task now that winter has arrived. Keck said they have been spending a lot of time with crews, making sure they are not putting frozen materials into the project or allowing the ground to become frost laden in foundation areas.

“We don’t want frost to get in the ground where we’re going to have a building. They have ground heaters. They have electric blankets — they’re not the kind of electric blankets you have at home. These are the industrial grade,” Keck said.

According to Keck, none of the ledge removal allowance has had to be used although they are expecting to run into ledge as the project moves forward.

In the area of unsuitable soils, however, Keck said they have had to remove a great deal so far into the project, creating an overage in the $11,000 range.

Keck said they are twothirds to three-fourths done with foundation work, noting that overages like those removing unsuitable soils are what architects and engineers refer to as “coming out of the ground” change orders. He said surprises are usually found under the ground and this project has had some of its own surprises.

Structural steel is expected to arrive around Feb. 1 and that steel should start to go up by mid-month.

dmcintire@timesrecord.com

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