INUVIK - The Inuvik Schools Project is nearly 70 per cent finished and the completion date may move up by one year.

The Inuvik Schools project is almost 70 per cent complete. The Department of Public Works and Services could change the move-in date to September 2012 from its original September 2013 start date. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL Photo

The school, which will replace Sir Alexander Mackenzie School and Samuel Hearne Secondary School, has the foundation, super structure, siding, mechanical, electrical and steel stud framing finished. It's a joint project between the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and Department of Public Works and Services. It is also one of the largest building projects in the history of the GNWT.

Construction started only 30 months ago, but because DPW kept the heat on in the winter months the completion date might move up from the original date of September 2013 to September 2012.

"The progress that we see today is an example of what Northern contractors, engineers, architects, tradespeople, businesses and government departments can achieve through working together," said Michael McLeod, minister of Education Culutre and Employment, in the legislature on May 18. "Although this project's delivery is accelerated, we are diligently ensuring that it is being constructed to the highest standards of quality and workmanship."

Right now the contractors, are working on installing ducts and pipes, drywall, cabinetry and interior glass, which will allow natural light into interior spaces. Because it's such a large building, the work is being done in stages.

It's a huge school, which takes nearly half a kilometre to walk around. The school will have space for 1,050 students in 54 classrooms. The schools are built backwards to each other, with each gym backing on to each other. There will be different entrances and offices, but the gyms can open up to each other for one large space.

This summer folks around Inuvik should see lots of groundwork completed around the school: sidewalks, parking lots and landscaping. The ground surrounding the school will be landscaped so it is flush with the main entrances, eliminating the need for stairs.

"Things are going so good, we might move a year forward. September 2012 is possible," said Brent Rausch, the superintendant of construction project managements for the Department of Public Works and Services. "If we finish construction in April of 2012, that gives them the spring and summer to move in furniture."

Anything serviceable from the old schools will be used but the majority will be new, Rausch said.

The school has been built to the highest energy efficiency code, measuring 56 per cent above the Model National Energy Building Code, a standard set by the federal government. The reason is good insulation, a good building envelope which seals the building off from the exterior, a heat recovery system which recycles the heat from the exhaust system and a daylight harvesting system.

Lights in the building will have sensors which measure the amount of natural light entering the building. If there is enough natural light, the overhead lights will remain dim. If it's dark, during the winter months for example, the lights will shine at full strength.

"Today we turn on the lights, no matter how much light comes in the windows," Rausch said. "This way they're not wasting energy and they'll be able to see the difference."

The glass on the inside of the schools will allow for natural light to reach most rooms within the building.

Another reason the building has moved faster than scheduled is because of Dowland's worksite. So far, 300,000 person hours have been tallied and zero days have been lost to accidents.

"They started in November 2008," Rausch said. "It's impressive especially when there's 60 to 100 people on site per day and about 450 people have worked on the site."

Of those workers, 43 per cent have been hired locally in Inuvik and 53 per cent have been Northern; of businesses used by the company, approximately 34 have been from the North and 22 from Inuvik.

As for the name, nothing has been decided yet. The Beaufort Delta Education Council and the Beaufort Delta Divisional Board of Education will decide what the new school will be called.

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