Committee hears construction schedule, ledge removal and site logistics ahead of April 2028 foundations

At the Sept. 25 Salem High School Building Committee meeting, construction managers and the design team presented a schedule that aims to begin foundations in April 2028 and complete the building for occupancy by June 2030. The team said the project requires substantial early "enabling" work — site reconfiguration, temporary parking and bus-drop arrangements, and ledge removal — to meet the schedule. "We think 26 months was the right allocation time to get that done," the construction manager said when outlining the foundation-to-occupancy schedule. To avoid delays to foundations, the team recommended performing large-scale ledge blasting and removal during the summer before foundation work so crews do not overlap ledge hammering and fresh concrete pours. Early enabling packages would also construct a permanent parent drop-off and bus loop ahead of major phased construction, relocate or rebuild tennis courts and create staging and worker parking so school operations suffer minimal disruption. The consultants also described demolition of a northwest wing of the existing building as part of the new-plan site sequence and noted that portions of classroom and life-skills programming now housed there will require temporary relocation; the committee heard that specific temporary-classroom locations remain to be confirmed. The team emphasized coordination with MassDOT and city departments for a potential Highland Avenue curb cut to provide emergency right-turn access; staff said the curb cut would be restricted to emergency use and deliveries, and would require state approval. No formal schedule approvals were taken; the presentation framed these items as recommendations and next steps for design–construction coordination and for the committee’s consideration ahead of final cost confirmation.