SAUGUS — Classes haven’t even started and the district is already grappling with some issues at the Saugus Middle-High School.
A large sinkhole in the upper parking lot at the school has caused some damage. Town Manager Scott Crabtree has attributed the sinkhole to the collapse of a water-storage system located below the parking lot.
School Committee Chairman Tom Whittredge said that when the town was first alerted to the issue on Aug. 9, the sinkhole was just a small bump in the pavement.
“So we put some cones around it and then later on when we came back, the guy had called me and said ‘hey listen, this thing is a lot bigger,'” said Whittredge. “So by the time I got back there, the hole had opened up to about 16 feet across by about 12 feet the other way, so it was a pretty good-sized hole.”
Whittredge added that PMA Consultants, the construction company working with the school district on repairing the damage, was quick to react; no time was wasted tending to the issue, he said.
Contractors and engineers are working on finding both a short- and long-term solution to the issue, but with nearly a month passing since the issue was reported, Crabtree said the town is still patiently waiting for a fix.
“We’re waiting for them to get back to us and update us on where we go from here,” said Crabtree. “(That could include) just sort of making it safe and either waiting for material or different things that have to be ordered and shipped and then checking the other parts of the system.”
While the first day of school is rapidly approaching — students start classes on Sept. 8 — the affected parking lot will not be used until the issue with the sinkhole is resolved.
“We’ve come up with different alternative parking situations,” said Whittredge. “It’s going to work out OK. It’s not ideal, but things happen and you just kind of have to roll with the punches instead of dwelling on it.”
