Construction progressing on new design

Construction on the $15.8 million Somers Middle School project is in full swing.

On Wednesday, crews were installing interior footing pads and working on interior slab prep work.

“The next phase would be setting steel,” said Swank Enterprises Superintendent Duke Goss, describing it as the building “skeleton.” He expects that work to start on July 22.

New construction encompasses 62,532 square feet, which includes about 16 classrooms, a shop, science lab, makerspace, art room and life skills classroom, gym and kitchen in a two-story building.

Two wings built in the ’50s and ’60s are slated for demolition.

A wing built in 1993 will be retained. Right now the 8,657-square-foot space is on track to be remodeled into storage and three classrooms. Somers-Lakeside School District Superintendent Joe Price said the extent of the remodel is subject to change, depending on where the budget is at when new construction is completed.

Construction began in mid-April after it had been put on hold in June 2018 after a soil report showed the structure of the original design and site placement could be compromised in the event of a major earthquake due to the presence of wet, loose, sandy soil susceptible to soil liquefaction — when soil behaves like a liquid — typically during an earthquake. Soil liquefaction causes settling, and, in the case of the original construction plans, the potential for differential settling.

Architects and engineers went back to the drawing board, redesigning the middle school, locating it east of the existing building.

Geotechnical engineers anticipated finding a similar soil composition in the second round of soil testing, however, noted the new site placement was more uniform, meaning less potential for uneven settling.

The new design included improving soil conditions below the structure by creating 627 vibrated or “vibro” stone columns 3 feet in diameter and 40 feet into the ground, Goss said.

The process of creating the columns involves driving a hollow vibrating, probe-like tool into the ground according to Goss. The probe is filled with stone, released and compacted through vibrations, which cause surrounding soil to densify. The method works to reduce the potential of soil liquefaction and settlement.

“Not only does it form a column with lateral stability up and down, but it also pushes outwards, so it compacts the soil around them as well,” he said.

The process is described on a “progress board,” Swank put up in front of the school. Also posted are pictures of ongoing construction.

“I not only like to tell people what we’re doing, but how and why we’re doing it. What the process is,” Goss said.

The school is expected to be completed in fall 2020.

“It’s going well. Progress is going well. The community is great,” he said.

The construction project is funded by a $15.8 million bond issue approved by voters in October 2017 for “... designing, constructing, furnishing, and equipping additions and renovations to Somers Middle School, to include classrooms, a gymnasium, a kitchen and lunchroom, a shop, a science lab, upgrades to the main school office area, building-wide security enhancements, related amenities and improvements at the existing Somers Middle School campus.”

Swank is also involved in other local school construction projects, including Flathead High School, Linderman Education Center, the second phase of the H.E. Robinson Vocational Agriculture Center and five elementary renovations/additions for Kalispell Public Schools.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.