Bond update: Valley Middle nearing completion; district outlines bus facility flow options with TxDOT input
Summary
Construction managers reported punch‑list work and June move‑in for Valley Middle, ongoing site work for Elementary 10 and High School #2, and described a transportation facility design that will require a protected turn lane and three turnaround options to accommodate about 50 morning buses.
District construction staff gave trustees a monthly bond update that included progress reports and traffic planning for a new transportation facility.
Project leads said Valley Middle School has reached a punch‑list phase and that the track surface is complete; teams are addressing vibration issues and starting initial finishing work with an anticipated June move‑in. CT legal (a separate campus referenced in the packet) has reached substantial completion, and AT&T final connections had been made in that area.
Site work for Elementary School No. 10 is underway and excavation and pad work are in progress. For High School No. 2, staff reported ongoing earthwork to prepare large footprints for construction.
On the transportation facility, the presenters described a site layout developed with TxDOT. Buses will exit the facility with a forced right turn; TxDOT is encouraging a protected turn lane and is requiring an improvement to avoid a direct left across traffic. Staff outlined three turnaround options to manage flows and said they estimate roughly 50 buses exit the facility in the morning with the majority of buses expected to be on the road by about 6:15 a.m.
"We have about 50 buses that exit the facility in the morning...we estimate that most of the buses in the morning will be out of the facility and on the road no later than at the latest, only 06:15," a transportation staff member said. District staff emphasized the site will be a significant improvement over the current Silver Springs facility, which has a single entrance/exit and limited queuing.
Trustees asked clarifying questions about turnaround capacity, how many buses each turnaround will hold (three to four buses estimated), and long‑term TxDOT plans to extend turn lanes. Staff said they will continue coordination with TxDOT and refine the routing plans as construction progresses.
