Feb 21, 2019 By Harry Funk staff Writer hfunk@thealmanac.Net 3 min read

Construction of a new Peters Township High School already is providing an educational opportunity for today’s students.

During the school board’s Feb. 19 meeting, Roshelle Fennell of Reynolds Construction LLC, construction manager for the $90 million-plus project, provided an update that included information about a student presentation series conducted by her firm.

“They actually come to the site,” she said about the former Rolling Hills Country Club property off East McMurray Road, about a mile away from the current high school. “We’re going to do it throughout the whole project.”

The series launched in February with a session focusing on careers in construction and foundation work, she told the board, and the next one is scheduled for March 6, addressing careers in architecture and structural steel.

As far as the structural steel at the construction site, its arrival has been delayed, she reported. Nello Construction, the project’s general contractor, is addressing the issue.

“They are now in the process of getting the documentation and paperwork together in order to get that steel here, and I’m hoping to get that started next week,” Fennell said. “We’re meeting with the contractor and coming up with a game plan on how to rearrange the schedule a little bit to make up the time we’ve lost by not starting. We still have a lot of time to do that, so I’m really not concerned at this time.”

Regarding areas of progress, Fennell told the board that necessary permits have been received from the state Department of Environmental Protection to proceed in certain areas of the site, and that foundation work is finished on the first floor of the new school’s academic wing. Other foundations are in various stages of completion, and work on the foundation for the natatorium will start soon.

“The electrical contractor is working right along with the mason in doing the rough-ins with the conduits in the walls that are going up at this point,” Fennell said. “The plumbing contractor is trying to start his undergrounds, a little slow process this time of year. But he is getting geared up to do that, too, and putting sleeves in when necessary with the walls.”

Also on Feb. 19, the school board approved a $35,386 change order to site work construction contractor A. Liberoni Inc. for repairs to the temporary roads providing access. The expense is paid for through the project’s construction contingency budget.