The construction for the addition onto the Manhattan High West Campus is underway, and the team is working on catching up due to weather issues the past few days. Administration is hoping to get things caught up fast and move on with the rest of construction.

“The quicker we can, as they would call it, [get] out of the ground, get the piers poured, which they are all poured, and the pier caps [set],” principal Michael Dorst said, “the quicker that we can get into setting steel and then getting a roof on then we’re not prevented from working, [being] dependent on weather.”

The administration is working really well with the construction companies, McCownGordon and Gould Evans as the company has purchased the majority of the materials needed, which has been extremely cost-effective for administration.

“[There’s] also a time efficiency because in addition to costing a lot of money, it’s cost a lot of money because availability isn’t there,” Dorst said. “They’ve actually gone ahead and purchased those things way in advance, so that’s a positive thing about working with a company like McCownGordon.”

There hasn’t been any gain or loss of parking spots since the start of the second semester. The administration has been fighting to keep the 38 parking spots left on the Sunset lot. 

“We continue to fight for this small amount of spots [because] they are very valuable for us to retain them,” Dorst said.

The overflow lot at Sunset Zoo is also being monitored, which is usually half-filled.

The construction on the road is almost done, so if the Northwest lot is full, students can come around Sunset to Westwood and Poyntz and then go right to Oak Street. If that lot is filled then they can go to the zoo overflow lot. 

The closing of Westwood has proven to be difficult and causes problems when it comes to not only parking, but travelling to and from school.

“When Westwood is closed, it’s a massive disadvantage,” Dorst said. “It’s the one deepest in the construction, and it’s the construction that we’re not in charge of, so that has compounded our problem.”

When the construction on the west is finished, there are additional parking spots that are being put in on the west side of school, south of the new gym and southwest of the fitness facility. There will also be additional parking spots put in on the east side as well when that construction is done, in addition to the ones that are being put on the southwest side.

Dorst understands that parking has been a challenge, and that both the students and the visitors are struggling with the construction.

“I feel for our Manhattan High School community, our teachers that are struggling with it alongside our kids and visitors that come in,” Dorst said. “It’s just really hard right now with construction and I look forward to not going through that anymore. It’s very exciting thinking about the future, but we’re in the present and the present is definitely a challenge.”