Construction is underway at the first of 20 Tulsa, Okla.-area schools that will receive new classroom or library additions to double as storm shelters.
The Tulsa World reported that a $415 million bond package that Tulsa voters approved of in 2015 includes $7.5 million to reinforce new building additions as storm shelters at 20 schools. Springdale Elementary is scheduled to be the first to have a completed addition around November.
Springdale’s new classroom addition includes six-inch-thick, concrete walls and a new roof. Bullet-proof glass on exterior windows and doors will also be added to the $4.5 million building project.
Schools that were selected for the additions had outgrown their permanent structures and resorted to trailers and other temporary buildings. As a result of the new shelters, 80 of Tulsa Public Schools’ 120 classroom trailers will be removed.
Related:
- Durability of Oklahoma School Storm Shelter Tested in Demolition
- Oklahoma Gov. Fallin-Backed School Storm Shelter Plan Dies in Senate
- Oklahoma Lawmaker Files Bill to Fund School Storm Shelters
- Oklahoma Schools Destroyed by Tornado Lacked ‘Safe Rooms’
- Oklahoma Governor Opposes Bond Issue For School Shelters
Topics Windstorm Oklahoma Construction
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