The Snoqualmie Valley School Board announced at the September 15th school board meeting that it had received the first permit needed to officially begin the Mount Si High School multi-year, $200 million rebuild project.
Starting in the next few days students, staff and residents in the surrounding area will notice signs closing Meadowbrook Way to parking during construction. The high volume of trucks and construction equipment accessing the school via Meadowbrook, could be a safety concern to parked cars and their drivers. Contractors will also provide three flaggers in the area to help with traffic flow during construction.
Crews will begin mobilizing equipment and grading the baseball and softball fields as early as next week. Construction will also begin next week on a large, temporary parking lot in the rear of the school – on property purchased behind the shop area. The temporary lot is expected to be finished in November. Once it is ready for students and busses, the front parking lot will close and crews will begin excavating it.
When excavation and grading finishes out front, expected in November/December, a large amount of gravel will be brought in to firm up the site to hold a two-hundred ton construction crane that will install new school’s foundational system deep into the ground, which is required to meet strict earthquake codes.
The crane will drill nearly 5,000 three-foot diameter holes, each 50 feet deep. As the drill retracts it leaves the hole filled with gravel to create the ‘stone column’ foundational system that will stabilize the site’s silty soil for construction of the new four-story high building (i.e. raised three-story building with parking underneath to meet flood code).
Once the new temporary parking lot opens behind the school, the current main entrance to Mount Si will close and relocate to the rear of the building near the outdoor gazebo and attendance office. Bus drop off and pick ups will also occur in the new parking lot.
Assistant Superintendent Ryan Stokes said they are aware there will be disruption as construction begins, but they are working hard to minimize it as much as possible. He described this phase of construction as “moving fast with lots of activity.”
And if your student is worried about losing their parking spot, administrators say not to fret. The new lot and existing back parking lot will provide more spots than currently available at Mount Si.
Construction of new Mount Si High School building is still on track and expected to begin Spring 2017, with a majority of the school finished in fall 2019. The last project components – the performing arts center, permanent parking lot, and relocated ball fields – are expected to be done in August 2020.
