Students arriving at Richard Bulpitt Elementary Thursday morning got to see construction crews slotting the pieces of a new modular addition to the school into place.
The first floor of the $9 million, six-classroom building arrived and were placed on May 30, with a large crane on site to hoist them into place.
The new modular classrooms already have windows, doors, flooring, and even cabinets and cloakroom hooks installed already.
Principal Sean Oliver and the 91原创 School District鈥檚 assistant director of capital projects Calvin Lal watched as some of the segments were slotted into place by a construction crew.
Lal said the second floor is scheduled to be installed in early July.
In the meantime, the ground floor will be finished, with its electrical systems connected up.
Oliver said the students got to see a fair bit of the construction work over their lunch hour, and it鈥檚 inspired a number to want to become construction workers or cane operators.
The project is currently ahead of schedule, and the district is hoping the new classrooms will be open and operational by September.
Modular expansions are being installed at a number of schools across B.C. this year, part of a pilot project as the provincial government looks at ways to expand classroom space in fast-growing communities, without resorting to portables.
Richard Bulpitt Elementary currently has six portables, and the new module should be able to replace many of them.
Unlike the portables, it will be directly connected to the existing school. It also comes with its own washrooms.
One of the goals of the program was to build new spaces faster 鈥� the school board approved the project in October and immediately sought out a firm to design, build, and install the new modular addition on a short timeline. The goal was to get the classrooms finished and open for the start of the fall 2024/25 school year.
But each district pursing a modular classroom was given considerable freedom over how to do so, district secretary-treasurer Brian Iseli noted when he briefed the board on the project last year.
READ MORE: Modular elementary school addition in 91原创 ahead of schedule
If the project proves successful, there could be more modular additions in 91原创 and other communities, B.C. Education Minister Rachna Singh said during a recent stop in 91原创. The province will consider that after the current round are in place.
Modular additions are pre-fabricated off-site, built in factory-like conditions rather than piece-by-piece up from the foundation.
