River Ridge School Addition
The walls of the addition behind the River Ridge School building continued to go up Tuesday morning. The addition will house eight classrooms and a gymnasium. The gymnasium is designed mostly for middle school students. (Photo by Ted Pennekamp)
Walls going up on
River Ridge addition
By Ted Pennekamp
Construction continues behind the River Ridge School building in Patch Grove. Concrete block walls are going up and beginning to define the walls of the addition that will house eight classrooms and a gymnasium. The addition will be 28,895 square feet.
River Ridge Superintendent Dr. Jeff Athey said the gym will be mostly for middle school students. The walls of the classrooms and hallways are also under construction.
“It has been very exciting for students and teachers to see the construction work,” said Athey. The windows of the library and the first through third grade classrooms look out at the project.
FEH Design of Dubuque is the architect for the project. Kraemer Brothers Construction, of Plain, is the general contractor. The masonry phase of construction began on April 24.
Construction hours are from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Owens Excavation of Cuba City is building roads on the project site so that heavy trucks won’t sink into the clay soil.
Athey said that during the 2017-2018 school year, the fifth and sixth grade students will be attending the school in Bloomington, just as they are now. After the Thanksgiving break, the fifth and sixth graders will then be going to the River Ridge building. All students will then be on one campus.
Athey noted that the River Ridge administration, school board and all other interested parties have recently been discussing what will be done with the Bloomington school building after the move to one campus has been made. One option would be to sell the building, he said.
High school football games and track meets will continue to be held at the Bloomington site. Athey said some discussion has involved whether an entity that buys the Bloomington building will allow football fans, for example, to use the building for restroom purposes, or as an emergency shelter in case of a sudden severe storm. The possibility of setting up porta potties has also been discussed.
The project began on Feb. 27, and is expected to end on Nov. 10. Renovation on the inside of the school, including HVAC and electrical work, is also part of the project. The renovation covers 2,015 square feet. The total cost of the entire project is $8,866,400.
Athey said, “I’m hoping for good weather this spring and summer so that, hopefully, the project can be completed even sooner than Nov. 10.”
