South Norfolk middle school said to be on schedule

Chesapeake

Construction on South Norfolk's Oscar Smith Middle School is moving ahead on schedule.

Work is 20 percent complete, according to a construction update given to the School Board on Monday. The 1,350 -student middle school is expected to open in fall 2009.

The original middle school, built in 1954, is overcrowded with 864 students and 31 portable classrooms. Only Western Branch High School has more.

Work began in December 2006. Crews removed lead-contaminated soil and started on a gymnasium, auditorium and three-story educational wing.

The interior bearing walls for the gym, locker rooms and health classrooms, and the walls of the band, chorus and orchestra rooms are being built. The next phase includes the construction of work and family studies classrooms and installing technology. The last step will be to put in administrative areas and a media center.

The old school building will be demolished in the summer of 2009.

The completed school will have a gymnasium large enough to host city events, a football stadium and tennis courts. Athletic facilities will be ready in 2010.

The improvements will cost approximately $52 million.

Amy Couteé, (757) 222-5216, amy.coutee@pilotonline.com