District 57 begins Lincoln Middle School construction work; Westbrook to start pre‑electrical work over Thanksgiving break

District 57 administrators told the Board on Oct. 16 that construction is underway for the new Lincoln Middle School and that preparatory work will begin soon at Westbrook.

District staff said fencing went up at the Lincoln site last week and work will include removing a maintenance building, excavating a construction road, staging equipment, removing topsoil and asphalt, and placing stone as initial site work. Administrators acknowledged that some trees have been removed to allow construction access and said the district plans additional tree planting at project completion. The district described efforts to communicate construction timing to neighbors.

At Westbrook, the district said some planned work originally scheduled for winter break will start over Thanksgiving to perform pre‑electrical work; interior work will occur during Thanksgiving and winter breaks while exterior work is scheduled for spring break ahead of a larger summer construction phase. District staff said both Westbrook and Lincoln construction include flexible classroom space design features—examples given included two classrooms with a removable partition that can serve as separate rooms or one larger classroom depending on enrollment needs.

The administration thanked STR and Nicholas for coordinating a recent groundbreaking event and noted the project team’s progress on early site mobilization. No construction contract awards or financing decisions were presented for vote at the Oct. 16 meeting.