Contractors renovating the Libertyville High School cafeteria told the Facilities & Finance Committee on Sept. 8 that unforeseen poor soil beneath the courtyard has pushed the project schedule back by roughly 3months and will require additional foundation work.

Gilbane project managers said crews found pockets of unsuitable soil while excavating for the courtyard's grade beams. "As we kept digging into the next set of footings, we found more bad soil," said Edgar Soto, the project's on‑site project manager. The structural engineer recommended adding helical piers (screw‑type foundation piles) to reach suitable bearing strata.

Why it matters: the courtyard slab is the critical path for the renovation; the contractor said the slab on grade had been scheduled to finish in August but the soil issues now push the final completion to mid‑February, delaying interior work and increasing costs.

What occurred and the response
Contract work began in March and initial tests indicated areas of acceptable soil, the team said. At one footing location the excavation continued to 10 feet without finding competent material, and subsequent areas required deeper work than the project team expected. The structural engineer and trade contractors proposed helical piers and larger footings as remedies. The district and Gilbane reported that previous allowances and the contingency had covered earlier unforeseen costs but that upcoming bid package 5 will cover the remaining pier and enlarged footing work.

Financial and schedule impact
District staff and Gilbane estimated the project budget could rise from about $16.6 million to approximately $16.9 million to cover additional work, owner costs and related expenses such as expanded design fees and asbestos abatement. Contractors said earlier allowance amounts were exhausted while five of eight grade beams had been poured. The project team also noted that remaining scope will be rebid because some proposed changes exceeded a 10 percent contract change limit that requires competitive bidding by law.

"The slab on grade is the key to the schedule," Gilbane senior project executive Tom Fallon said. The team estimated the slab delay at about 3months and said bid opening for the next package was scheduled for Monday the 15th; Gilbane anticipated presenting bid results and a request for board action at the next board meeting.

Discussion vs. decision
The committee heard a detailed update, asked procedural and budget questions and requested additional information. No final board vote occurred at the Sept. 8 committee meeting; district staff said the next board meeting would include the agenda item for approval if bids and vetting support the recommendation.

Technical detail and uncertainty
Gilbane said the bid package will call for helical piers to depths the team set conservatively; during the meeting engineers noted some pier depths may reach as deep as 45 feet in isolated locations. District staff said earlier soil borings were historic and that limited access prevented more extensive preconstruction borings in the courtyard; the construction team said the actual subsurface conditions in the small courtyard area were worse than anticipated.

Next steps
District staff will return with bid results and refined cost estimates; the Facilities & Finance Committee and the full board will consider award of the package at a subsequent meeting. The district said it will look for internal savings (unused reimbursable allowances, conservative estimating buffers) to offset the increase but could present a supplemental request if bids exceed available contingency.