Walls go up for new gym

NEW LONDON — Work on the new gym for New London schools remains on track as precast walls arrived and crews began to erect them at the end of February, beginning of March.

Progress began to really show in the project late in February when crews placed the very first wall panel.

At the beginning of March, progress on the project became more easily recognizable as S&G Construction erected the wall panels.

According to New London CSD, “The entire process of erecting the walls and securing them will take approximately two weeks weather permitting.”

“If you drive by or just look at the pictures attached you will see that one wall panel was purposely left out for the time being,” New London Community School District stated on their Facebook page.

“By leaving this panel out it allows access for the next couple of teams to complete their work.”

While the schools acknowledge that the progress is exciting and people may want to see the work in action, they encourage spectators to exercise caution.

“We encourage you to do this from a safe distance,” the district encourages.

“As the weather gets warmer, we know that kids will be around when school is out of session or following dismissal hours playing on the playground,” the district took to their Facebook page to warn. “We ask that you talk with your child(ren) about being extra careful around the construction site. Safety of everyone is a priority and we need everyone to help with to make this project safe and successful.”

New London Community School District approved renovating the current elementary gym into classrooms, adding a new gym, building a weight room, and expanding parking in September 2021.

The estimated completion date for the project is November 2023.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Ward@southeastiowaunion.com