Crews battle the elements in midst of high school reconstruction projects in Meriden

MERIDEN Weeks of bitter cold temperatures and regular snow accumulation have made challenging work of simultaneous construction projects at the citys two public high schools. Still, project leaders say they expect work to be completed within the expected time frame.

Both Platt and Maloney high schools are in the second of four-phase renovation and construction projects that will leave both schools without much semblance to their original footprints.

At Platt, construction of a 45,000-square-foot vocational-technical building is under way. The wing will include a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) lab; wood shop; drafting rooms; weight and fitness rooms; locker rooms; custodial areas; and a cafeteria and kitchen. Its part of the schools $111.8 million reconstruction project.

The curved cafeteria and kitchen stick out prominently in the back of the building, and when the final four panes of glass are installed this week, plastic sheets insulating the construction will be dropped to reveal views of the schools football field and track.

With the foundation for that section having been poured for months, and the roof already in place, crews from the Torrington-based O&G Industries were working to complete duct and electrical work Tuesday in an environment much warmer than for some of their coworkers thanks to industrial heaters in the nearly enclosed space.

In here, we can plug along. Once we get the slab in and the roof on, we can go, said Project Superintendent Steven M. Baranello. Thats what were fighting to get going across the hall, where the future vocational-technical wing is thus far plumbing and steel beams over a dirt floor. Were fighting frozen ground, and we keep getting these weekend snowstorms that mean shoveling off the steel decking overhead, Baranello said.

Metal roofing structure covers the expanse of the wing though water drops through the steel deck from melting snow sitting overhead.

Whatever snow settles in the flutes of the metal, during the day when the sun hits it, it melts and drips down here, Baranello said.

That dripping snow melt freezes overnight, meaning crews have to sand the area every morning in order not to slip. Additionally, digging out trenches for the underground plumbing thats going in also means more effort.

Baranello said the ground needs to be thawed first overnight, a process that involves running glycol heated to 180 degrees Fahrenheit through rubber tubing. Those tubes are covered by blankets overnight, and in the morning, the ground is thawed enough to dig out. Baranello said, in the mornings when we take the blankets off, the ground steams.

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Crews battle the elements in midst of high school reconstruction projects in Meriden