Construction underway at Elmira District Secondary School will expand the existing parking lot and get school buses off the surrounding streets.
Bus loading and unloading should be more efficient with the addition of a bus drop off zone and concrete sidewalk, said Rob Seeley, sites foreperson for the Waterloo Region District School Board.
About 25 more spaces will be added to the existing parking lot and a light standard installed.
The work is the second stage of a project that started with the installation of the football field and track across Snyder Avenue, adjacent to the Woolwich Memorial Centre.
“Once that (project) was finished, we could move ahead with this one. This way it didn’t disrupt them by not having a field,” Seeley said.
The old rutted track will be removed and the small field moved south, closer to Second Street. Seeley said the expansion of the parking lot won’t cut into the size of the field.
“It was never a full-sized field anyway,” Seeley said. “Basically you can’t have regulated games. It’s more for school use – practices, classes, intramurals – but you wouldn’t play other high school games there.”
Crews are also installing an irrigation system so the secondary field can be better-maintained.
The work is budgeted to cost in the neighbourhood of $325,000. Construction should wrap up in about three weeks, weather permitting. The completion date has already been pushed back because rain forced the crew to stop work several days.
