The Hopkins County Schools Career and Technology Center will undergo geological stabilization work before contractors will can finish construction of the new building.
The work is a result of shifting ground on the site which served as a strip mine before being reclaimed by the school district. Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Steve Gilliam says the work will allow the construction of the facility to continue after a long hiatus:
"Construction was stopped in early December due to the ground settling and we took the time since then to hire some engineering and architectural firms to study the soil and what was going on out there. They determined to stabilize the building the only certain way to do that was through micro-piles. "
Micro-piles are six inch diameter steel tubes. Engineers will drive hundreds of them into bedrock to support the building. Gilliam says the stabilization work will begin within the next month and should be complete in 12 weeks. The career and technical center is expected to be completed in the spring of 2013.
