Northwestern School District Continues Improvements

By Eric Althoff

BOTHELL, Wash.—The Northshore School District has continued with its plan to make improvements at several of its schools, including the new Ruby Bridges Elementary School campus and a roof for a performance space at the existing Inglemoor High School.

Work at Ruby Bridges Elementary School includes making needed seismic upgrades in the earthquake-prone Pacific Northwest. At the same time, a roof has been attached at Inglemoor High School’s Northshore Concert Hall. During the spring, other work at the hall included connecting a gas line, and this was done at times when interruption to on-campus instruction would be as limited as possible.

The roofing was part of the overall $34.5 million concert hall project, which was designed by Hutteball + Oremus, and funded by a bond that passed in 2018.

The work continued even as the high school’s athletes returned to campus to begin training for spring sports. Accordingly, the construction team fashioned an ersatz path allowing the athletes to access training facilities during their work.

The construction team spent February and March welding together the roof’s steel components, which had been temporarily sealed together in January. At that point, enclosing the building and fixing any gaps in the structure could be undertaken as the roof neared completion in March.

Late-season snows presented challenges at the jobsite, but the roof installation was nonetheless completed on time.

In addition to also working on the new Ruby Bridges Elementary School, the Northshore School District is adding some 30 classrooms at the combined Skyview Middle School and Canyon Creek Elementary campus.