High school track project stuck in the mud

The long-awaited effort to replace Sahuarita High School’s uneven running track has bogged down after the machine that was grinding up the old track surface sank into mud three times in late September.

The district planned to replace the track at a cost of $800,000 and then put in new bleachers in time for graduation next spring, using bond money approved by voters. The bleachers cannot go in until the track is done and the timetable for their installation could be in jeopardy because of the mud.

District officials are investigating whether the mud results from a high water table or another source.

The old track was so dangerous that SHS has not hosted track or cross country meets in three years. Head track coach Joe Prince has used a variety of inventive approaches to keep the track and cross-country programs competitive and to provide practice venues for team members.

“Being a good coach means you have to get creative,” Prince said. “We’re lucky that we’ve had some great kids who have bought into our philosophy.”

District Superintendent Jay St. John told the school board Sept. 30 that the milling machine being used to grind up the track bogged down on Sept. 26.

“It sunk into the mud three times, so we put that project on hold until we find out where the water is coming from,” he said.

“It is the second time in my 16 years here. It keeps popping up. We will try to solve the problem permanently if we can,” St. John told the board.

Meanwhile, dust from a chunk of torn up track is blowing across the football field, which is ringed by the track.

The district has hired a civil engineer to investigate the source of the mud. The engineer will start digging holes to check groundwater levels at the main campus after utility lines have been marked in the area, St. John said Monday.

He said that while some officials suspect the irrigation system is causing the problem, he thinks it is groundwater. He said there long have been groundwater issues around the high school, where a cut-off wall was built to divert groundwater; and around the middle school, which had to be mud-jacked several years after it was built in 1966; and the middle school gymnasium, where structural damage to a wall was discovered after the district swimming pool became unusable in late 2007.

The track was finished in 1998. Prince said the track looked good for the first couple of years, but he started noticing defects. There were cracks in the middle of the track near the finish line, which eventually spread toward the edges.

Prince said the use of Quikrete cement to cover some of the patches on the original surface was also responsible for some of the hazardous running conditions.

“The Quikrete doesn’t bond correctly with the surface, so that’s what led to all that dust blowing around,” Prince added.

Even though this delay isn’t an ideal circumstance, Prince remains optimistic that the new track will still get built.

“I’m so thrilled that we’re going about this the right way,” Prince said. “We’re all doing our homework to make sure we don’t run into the problems we faced on the last track.”

pfranchine@sahuaritasun.com | 547-9738