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                         August 30, 2002

DHPW does environmental study at new site

Story and photo by Spc. Nate Jastrzemski
Staff Writer

In anticipation of the upgrade and construction of additional classrooms, as well as the addition of a new parking lot at the West Point Schools, personnel in the Directorate of Housing and Public Works’ Environmental Management Division are conducting a study of the environmental impact of this project.

The current study is concerned with the impact of the construction of new classrooms as well as the upgrading of existing classrooms. The project is scheduled to begin in a few months, said Douglas Cubbison, a DHPW environmental planner.

The project also calls for a totally new parking area. The lot is planned for the wooded area east of Bldg. 1000, explained Nazar Naqvi, DHPW project manager. The old lot will be turned into a bus loop.

The project completion date is sometime next summer, Naqvi said. That’s a good thing since the study is still ongoing.

"We’re a little behind schedule on the environmental study," Cubbison explained. "We expect to have a public review ready by this fall."

Another school project is set to begin within the next couple of weeks. When it is finished, children at the schools will enjoy the benefits of a brand new gymnasium.

"The contractor equipment is already on site for the gymnasium project," Naqvi said.

DHPW recently finished a survey for unexploded munitions at the site, a must for this area since it was used for artillery target practice early in the last century, explained the school facilities manager Linda Murawski.

"It’s been concluded there will be no major impact from the construction of the gymnasium," she said.