Princeton High School auditorium behind schedule

Opening date of Jan. 3 will not be met

By: Rachel Silverman
   Construction snafus at Princeton High School have taken a toll on the building’s new auditorium — and pushed back its completion date.
   The auditorium was originally set to have a Jan. 3 unveiling. Director of Plant/Operations Gary Weisman is now predicting a later debut.
   "We’re never going to be able to pull it back to a Jan. 1 deadline," he said. "It just won’t happen. We’re hoping it’s like a February timeframe."
   Mr. Weisman said construction difficulties emerged from the organizational sequencing of work.
   "It’s almost like dominoes," he said. "It’s like this one thing happened, pushing this other thing back, pushing another thing back.
   "It’s not a perfect science," he added.
   A number of things caused the change in scheduling, Mr. Weisman said.
   "Things like material not being delivered, weather and flooding always open up the schedule to refinement," he said.
   Mr. Weisman aalso blamed the delay on the complexity of the job.
   "Whenever you have an interesting design, it’s that much more difficult to get all those T’s crossed and I’s dotted," he said.
   In particular, he cited the auditorium’s difficult block work, roofing and steel framing.
   Going forward, Mr. Weisman noted he’s hoping some lost time will be made up.
   "There are ways to meld activities so they can happen simultaneously," he said. "The schedule is constantly being looked at and refined."
   Other pieces of the school district’s $81.3 million, six-school renovation and expansion project remain on target, Mr. Weisman said. Completion dates include Nov. 28 for the gymnasium, Dec. 14 for the D-wing science rooms, Dec. 20 for the B-wing science rooms and Jan. 3 for the art rooms.