Camp Avenue Elementary School gets a face-lift

Drivers on Merrick Avenue in North Merrick may have noticed that a large construction project is under way at Camp Avenue Elementary School.

The work is part of a $1.2 million capital project that was approved by North Merrick voters last December. Of that money, $552,000 was slated for exterior repairs at the Camp Avenue and Old Mill Road schools.

Jim Saitta, the North Merrick facilities director, recently took the Herald on a tour of the Camp Avenue construction. “Construction this summer is progressing very nicely,” said Saitta. “We’re on schedule right now for an on-time opening of school. We’re not anticipating any delays as of now.”

Capital Concrete is doing the construction work. Saitta said that there are anywhere from six to 12 workers assigned to the project each day, depending on the task at hand.

One of the main priorities is to expand the entrance loop to the school, he said. Cars used to line the entrance, causing congestion. To remedy this, the entrance is being moved 40 feet north and the exit is being relocated a few feet south. Additionally, the loop will be pushed closer to the school.

Saitta estimated that 22 cars should be able to fit comfortably in the loop after construction. The previous loop held seven. “It will help get cars off the streets and out of the traffic flow,” he said.

On the north side of the building, Saitta said, the fence dividing the school and the playing fields will be taken down so that a sidewalk can be installed from the entrance loop to the front entrance. “Kids will be safe and don’t have to walk across the drop-off zone,” he said.

Also on the north side, the ramp for disabled students is being refurbished, and the stairway leading out of the cafeteria has been expanded. “God forbid there’s a problem,” Saitta said. “You don’t need to bottleneck out of the building.”

The plan is to install a 75-foot-wide concrete pad in front of the entrance. The grass that was there, Saitta explained, was damaged by constant foot traffic. The concrete pad, he said, will include 10 decorative benches where parents can wait when picking up their children.

Decorative lights will be installed along the front of the school that will match the lights on Merrick Avenue.