By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Things were going well on the construction of the new USD 428 Support Facility on east 10th Street in Great Bend. Then an explosion rocked that side of town and killed a man in the early morning hours of March 22. Construction on the $4.82 million facility was temporarily halted, and McCownGordon Construction Project Manager Todd Dumler updated the board of education during a luncheon Tuesday at Jefferson Elementary.
"They did verify there's no structural damage to the primary framing members," Dumler said. "There was a little bit to some of the secondary things, but they're all items we can repair fairly easily."
Dumler said some of the seams on the roof panels might have been damaged, causing a water leak. Water testing is expected to be completed Thursday to pinpoint the leak. Drywall and insulation will need to be replaced in a kitchen office area due to the leak. An existing second-floor bathroom was also heavily damaged.
"You can see that the building moved so much the ceiling grid fell in, moved the walkers around a little bit, blew the insulation off the walls," Dumler said. "It was quite a force."
McCownGordon staff was on site less than three hours after the explosion to begin surveying the damage. Monday, the site was officially cleared for work to restart. As of Tuesday, Comfort Pro was the only trade partner back on the job, though several others were expected by week's end. Dumler expects to have a full schedule finalized within two to three weeks.
"We're working with our trade partners right now to figure out what we need to do to make up the time, not only when we were shut down, but getting remobilized and trying to minimize that impact as much as possible," Dumler said. "Once we have a plan that's put together with all the trade partners' input, we'll then present it to (Assistant Superintendent John Popp and Superintendent Khris Thexton)."
Renovations on the building were planned for January of this year but started a few months early. Dumler did report some milestones that occurred before the blast, including the installation of a grease interceptor, and the installation of three of the four hoods in the new kitchen. The ceiling grid, paint on the walls, and some flooring is expected to be completed within the next few weeks.