District soliciting bids to resurface high school track

The track at Bigfork High School hasn’t seen any significant upgrades for 17 years but this summer, the aging athletic venue will be resurfaced. Bigfork High School Athletic Director Matt Porrovecchio said that while the blacktop underlayment is still in good condition, the top layer has lost its elasticity and is beginning to bubble and peel.

“Since it’s completion, no major repair or maintenance has been done to the track...,” Porrovecchio wrote in an email. “We have had to start making temporary repairs to surface areas that have broken away completely, making an uneven surface in areas.”

In addition to resurfacing the track, the project will also include extending, or possibly rebuilding, the school’s long and triple-jump runway.

“When it was constructed, it was built too short to run two events from,” he wrote. “The jump runway on the south side is not usable as it ends at the track finish line [which is] not functional for running a meet.”

The school is currently soliciting bids for the project, which Porrovecchio expects to ring it at approximately $200,000.

Construction won’t impact the current track and field season, which runs from mid-March through the end of May, but will instead be completed throughout the summer, provided things go according to plan.

The track was built over 17 years ago thanks to contributions from the Bigfork Booster Club and donations from the community. The resurfacing project will also be supported in part by the boosters.

With appropriate maintenance, the new track should last at least 20 years.