Work starts at former Teachers College to accommodate Union Island students
LAND AT the old Teachers’ College building has been cleared to accommodate students coming from the Southern Grenadines whose schools were destroyed by Hurricane Beryl.
“It’s a temporary classroom. They will be built out of plywood and a concrete base,” Jon Greaves, the lead contractor on the site told SEARCHLIGHT on Thursday, July 25, 2024.
LAND BEING CLEARED for additional classrooms to house Union Island students.
During SEARCHLIGT’s visit to the facility where the old Teachers College was located at Arnos Vale, 12 workers were under Greaves’s supervision. He, however anticipates an increase in the workforce as more contractors are expected to arrive to build the classrooms.
“Each block of classroom will have its sub-contractor, each contractor will bring their workers,” Greaves explained.
He said the goal is to add 16 classrooms divided into four blocks, along with a general toilet that will separate the classes. Greaves estimated the classrooms to be 96 feet long and 31 feet wide.
The contractor estimates that the project would be completed by the end of August, but challenges, such as sourcing materials, and inclement weather could lead to delays. “If you look across there (the area where the land was recently cleared), you’ll see it. You won’t be able to walk on it, that’s one of the problems,” he said, describing the scene.
Greaves explained that, having over 30 years of experience in construction, he found the temporary classrooms on the tarmac of the decommissioned E.T Joshua Airport more challenging to work on than his current project.
“The soil over here is much better than the one over there. When I built that, we built them in water right through. The whole place was springing water. We started to work in water until we finished the foundation, and then the dirt started to dry.”
Greaves’ next task will be to commence the construction of the concrete foundation for the classrooms. Heading this project is the Ministry of Education, which is responsible for funding the project and sourcing materials such as plywood and two-byfour boards.
The old Teachers College building is undergoing expansion to include additional classrooms, facilities, and amenities to cater to students from Union Island, Canouan, and Mayreau who will be temporarily relocated to the mainland until recovery work is done in the southern Grenadines.
Comments
