ALABAMA STATE EDITION
231
65
72 Florence
2
Huntsville
20 Decatur
72
565 59
43
A Supplement to:
231
431
31
5
Gadsden
78 59 Anniston
20
Birmingham Bessemer
82 Tuscaloosa
65 280
20 82 Auburn
80
85
Selma
Phenix City
Montgomery
82
January 8 2014 Vol. XXV • No. 1
65
231
43 84 431 331
84
84 52 31
45
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.”
Dothan
65 98
Mobile
10
Your Alabama Connection • Rich Olivier, Atlanta, GA • 1-800-409-1479
TCTA Facilitates Learning, Keeps Students Safe By Cindy Riley CEG CORRESPONDENT
The latest school to open its doors in Tuscaloosa, Ala., is teaching students both academic and job skills, while also providing a safe place to gather during emergencies. A ribbon cutting was held for Tuscaloosa Career & Technology Academy (TCTA), a 120,000 sq. ft. (11,148 sq m) $25 million dollar facility that includes six interconnected buildings and a shelter that has its own power supply, backup generator and HVAC system. “Watching the dream unfold was amazing,” said TCTA principal Kathleen Hughston. “It was an overall sense of rejuvenation, to say the least. Although there were glitches along the way, and even adjustments currently being made, the facility is one the Tuscaloosa community should be extremely pleased and proud to support. The response to the new school has been very positive from all perspectives, including business and industry, students and parents.” Located on Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard — the former site of Westlawn Middle School — TCTA provides enrollees with various college and career prep courses of study, using state-of-the-art technology and equipment. Described as a “working building,” TCTA features classroom walls made of sheetrock so they can be torn down and rebuilt easily. The revamped, skill-based curriculum focuses on finance, engineering, transportation, building services, media production, cosmetology, public safety, human services and medical sciences. To help students better train, a mock fire department was constructed on campus, along with a simulated hospital ward, complete with life-size mannequins for training purposes. Cody Strickland, superintendent of construction manager Harrison Construction Company Inc., said work began in spring of 2011, starting with demolition work. “This involved asbestos abatement, moving the city school board out of the building, then doing the demolition with the use of large excaHarrison Construction photo vators and dump trucks,” said Strickland. “We also had to build an underground retention system Crews grade the dirt to pour a new sidewalk in front of the to control storm water run-off, and had to con- school that ties into an existing sidewalk. struct a building pad for the new school.” “Carrying out this project was actually fairly easy, Major equipment used at the job site included John Deere because everything was coordinated very well with the excavators, John Deere backhoes, lulls and Caterpillar skid architects and the contractors on site,” said Strickland. “The steers. Materials included concrete, steel, brick, metal siding biggest challenges were the schedule and the safe room. The and metal roofing. most difficult task was scheduling the storm shelter with the
Harrison Construction photo
Crews grade a gravel pad in front of the fire house to get ready for the fire truck dedication ceremony.
adjoining building to make them all come together at different stages.” TCTA’s campus is far from conventional, with a modern design that suits students’ varied needs. The shop areas are built with mostly CMU block and metal trusses and include the automotive shop/classroom, masonry shop/classroom, electrical shop/classroom, welding shop/classroom and carpentry shop/classroom. The classroom wing is a two-story building made from steel on metal deck and concrete. Hughston believes the new structure comes at the right time. “The previous building was built in 1969. The technological demands of the equipment needed to properly prepare students for the transition to college and or careers necessitated costly facility updates. Additionally, the old location did not provide space to grow new programs and expand current programs. With the passage of PLAN 2020, the timing seemed right to initiate a facility that created an environment that not only met the needs for preparing students for post-secondary programs for today, but would also have the flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing needs for the future. “In order to reflect the overall idea of college and career see TCTA page 6