MERCED -- It's getting down to crunch time at El Capitan High School.
Merced's third high school is 82 percent done and contractors are expected to be finished June 18, with freshmen and sophomores showing up Aug. 19 for classes.
"It's all coming together," Michael Belluomini said. "We're getting there."
Semi-retired, Belluomini is the director of facilities planning for the Merced Union High School District.
Travis Kirk, the district's capital facilities project manager, said three of the nine El Capitan High buildings are almost ready for use, and five of the nine buildings are virtually complete.
"I think we're doing remarkably well," Kirk said. "I'm confident we can wrap it up in a timely manner. I'm feeling pretty good where we are."
Belluomini said the exteriors of some buildings at the campus on North G Street near Farmland Avenue are receiving stucco and brick veneer. Paving and pouring of concrete for the quad at the center of the 54-acre complex will be done soon.
The campus' administration building will be the last one to be finished. Some framing and drywall is still being put up there. The swimming pool and gymnasium floor will be done in a couple of months, Belluomini said.
The complex is expectd to have cost $90 million to build.
Workers are preparing to plant some of the athletic fields in about a month. In addition to the administration building, the last buildings to be completed will be the cafeteria, special education and agriculture classroom units.
At least 51 percent of businesses, laborers, materials and supplies are from the area, a condition stipulated before the project began last year.
It may look like there is quite a bit left to do, but progress is being made. Overall it involves juggling workers' tasks and coordination issues. As one building is finished, workers with lead contractor Bernards of Fresno are shifted to others on the complex, Kirk said.
Belluomini said much of the interior work on the buildings has yet to be done. Heating and air conditioning units have been installed so interior finishes won't be damaged by severe weather.
Traffic signals at Farmland Avenue and G Street, as well as Barclay Avenue and Bellevue Road, are up but not operating yet.
One of the biggest challenges was getting approval from the Division of the State Architect for the design and installation of the curved, two-story glass walls on the theater, library, gym and administration building, Belluomini said.
Reporter Doane Yawger can be reached at (209) 385-2407 or dyawger@mercedsunstar.com.
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