PITTSFIELD, Mass. — On Monday, the Taconic High School property will start to look like a construction site.

 

Superintendent Jason McCandless said workers from J.H. Maxymillian Inc. will begin site work for the new high school. Maxymillian won one of three early contracts put out by the city for the $120.8 million new school.

 

"We have a construction trailer at Taconic and their work is going to start on Monday," McCandless said. 

 

Maxymillian will be installing water retention basins and a bridge over a small creek, building out a parking lot, creating an access road and leveling the ground for construction among the work needed to prepare the land. The company will also be fencing off the entire construction site. 

 

"As of right now, the soccer field will be off limits. The girl's softball field will be off limits. And the lacrosse practice field will be off limits," McCandless said of the impacts the site work will have. 

 

Softball games are being moved to the Doyle Softball Complex, lacrosse is going to Berkshire Community College, and track and field will be competing at Wahconah Regional High School. 

 

"The fewer events we have on site the better for safety reasons," McCandless said.

 

The city and construction manager Gilbane Construction put out bids for the site work and concrete, and will be for steel. McCandless said Connecticut-based Coreslab Structures won the concrete contract.

 

"These were bids that we knew months and months ago," McCandless said. "You have to be in line months ahead of time and that's what we were shooting for ... things are moving ahead nicely."

 

Coreslab is expected to work somewhat with the Pittsfield-based Unistress, helping reduce transportation costs for the massive concrete blocks. 

 

The project is on target timewise. Gilbane had eyed mid-March for these early contracts with construction ramping up later in the spring.

 

"They are feeling right on schedule for where they want to be," McCandless said. 

 

The superintendent says he is also working on scheduling a groundbreaking ceremony.

 

The new building will be 246,520 square feet to accommodate 920 students. It will built over a two-year period across the driveway from the current building, which was constructed in 1969. That building will be razed. The budget is $120.8 million but the Massachusetts School Building Authority is paying up to $74.2 million of that. 

 

Gilbane is the construction manager at risk that will be overseeing the entire project. There is also a construction subcommittee consisting of members of the School Building Needs Commission approving the contracts. The bids are going through city's purchasing department with Gilbane and the subcommittee recommending the winners. 

 

The new vocational technical school is eyed for opening for the 2018-19 school year. For more information about the project, click here.