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Campus View elementary next in ongoing seismic upgrade program

Province to speed up “backlog” of seismic school projects in B.C.
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Minister of Education Rob Fleming announced a $2.4-million seismic upgrade for Campus View Elementary school last week. Campus View was built in 1959, with four additions in 1962, 1964, 1967 and 2001. Four of the school’s five blocks have a high risk of failure in the event of a large earthquake. Submitted

Campus View elementary is next in line for much-needed seismic upgrades.

First term Minister of Education Rob Fleming visited the Mount Tolmie neighbourhood school last week to announce a $2.4-million seismic upgrade. It’s part of the NDP government’s commitment to speeding up the pace of seismic upgrades throughout B.C., addressing what it calls a “backlog of seismic projects in the province.”

In its September budget the NDP committed $522 million over three years to continue seismic upgrades throughout B.C. Provincially, 165 seismic upgrades have already been completed and 79 are underway. However, just 12 schools in B.C. were slated to begin construction in B.C., according to the 346 high-risk schools listed in the 2017 Seismic Mitigation Program.

“We know there is more work to do and that is why we have 50 seismic projects that will proceed to approval in the next 18 months,” Fleming said.

Eleven SD61 schools have been seismically upgraded since 2007. Most recently, George Jay and Tillicum elementary schools were completed in 2015 and Cloverdale in 2016. Shoreline, Vic High (phase two), Cedar Hill, Craigflower, Braefoot, Lambrick Park, Reynolds, MacAulay and Arbutus are next.

During upgrades, most SD61 elementary schools used the vacant Richmond elementary as a swing school. However, the planned construction at Campus View should allow students to remain in the school.

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Construction begins in June 2018 with a goal to be completed in September 2019. The work includes 12 concrete restraint anchorages, consisting of concrete footings and shear walls, cast against the exterior of the building. Steel anchors will be installed to connect the shear walls to the roof.

The majority of the interior work is planned for the summer school breaks.

Campus View was built in 1959, with four additions in 1962, 1964, 1967 and 2001. Four of the school’s five blocks have a high risk of failure in the event of a large earthquake.

Saanich SD63 has had seismic upgrades completed on eight schools including all three high schools – Parkland, Stelly’s and Claremont – with the Saanich Children’s Development Centre and Keating elementary next in line.