Construction on Mount Si High School continued over the winter break and families will see changes when school starts again Jan. 3.

The front parking lot, school bus lane and main entrance to the school will be closed off this week. The school bus drop-off and main entrance will be temporarily relocated to the back of the school, on Schusman Avenue S.E.

Student walking paths will be established along Schusman and across the parking lot. Students who drive to school must park in the new gravel lot on the south side of the property, entering the lot from Meadowbrook Way. They can enter the school through the CTE wing of the building.

The main school entrance will be behind the school, near the gazebo. All visitors must use this entrance; visitor parking will be provided next to the staff parking lot on Schusman Avenue.

Parents can drop students off before school along Meadowbrook Way. During school hours, parents can use the staff parking lot for pick-ups and drop-offs.

The high school construction is a $190 million project, approved by voters in 2015 as part of a $244 million bond package. The project will elevate the entire building, provide better stabilization against earthquakes, expand science labs, replace roofing, and generally update the aging building.

By its projected completion date of 2019, the school will have a 2,300 student capacity, a new gymnasium, new performing arts center and a separate freshman wing, enabling the district to convert the Freshman Campus building back into a third middle school.

Initially, the project was expected to last several years longer, because of the limited space available on the school site. However, in the summer of 2015, project architects proposed a solution that would dramatically speed up the construction phase, if the district could acquire several lots on the south end of the property. By January 2016, the district had acquired all the properties, through sales or condemnation proceedings.

Another component of the bond project, construction of a sixth elementary school, at an estimated $35 million was completed in 2016. Timber Ridge Elementary in Snoqualmie still needed a few finishing touches but was open for students and families when school started Aug. 31.

For more information, visit the school district website, www.svsd410.org.

Student parking in January will be in the gravel lot at the south end of the Mount Si High School property, with entrances on Meadowbrook Way. Courtesy Image