FORT SMITH, Ark. (KFSM) — Starting Monday (Oct. 28) long time traffic patterns at Southside High School in Fort Smith will be rerouted for major construction projects.
Parents will need to drop-off and pick-up students at a new location.
“It means more than we can ever communicate. It just shows such faith in what the community feels about the education that we provide here at Southside that they would support us," said Lisa Miller, Principal of Southside High School.
During the construction, the front-drive and entrance of the school will be closed.
“We’re going to have some staff and officers out here that are going to assist the public and parents, and staff and so forth to make sure we have a smooth transition during this construction," said Bill Hollenbeck, Chief of Fort Smith Public Schools Police Department.
Parents will want to drive down Gary Street, turn into the student parking lot on the east side of campus, drop off their teen, and then exit onto Leigh Street.
“Next week will be a change for all of us and probably leave a little bit early. Be thinking about those patterns. Be very watchful of students walking in from their cars when we’re dropping off over I the student parking lot," Miller said.
Meanwhile, school buses will drop kids off in the west parking lot.
When the project is complete not only will there be a new office and secure entry, but also a new freshmen center and competition gymnasium, transforming the campus for future generations.
Construction will take about 20 months and the project is expected to be completed by August of 2021.
A groundbreaking ceremony is planned to celebrate the start of construction on Monday (Oct. 28) at 5 p.m. on the front lawn.
Construction at Northside High School will begin on November 11.
For a link to traffic, maps click here.