Access to Whitefish High School will change significantly beginning next month when construction on the gymnasium kicks off.

On Monday, March 11 the main parking lot south of the high school will be closed to begin construction work. The parking lot will remain closed through the 2013-14 school year. Construction work will impact physical education classes for the remainder of the school year and cause the relocation of graduation ceremonies.

“From a notification perspective we’re doing several things to let people know about this,” said Bayard Dominick, the school district’s consultant for the project. “We’re sending out a newsletter to the elementary and high school students explaining the changes. We’ll have large versions of the traffic map in both schools and the district office.”

Traffic will be rerouted and parking shifted around the school to accommodate the parking lot closure.

The closure will shift parking for students, staff and visitors to other areas adjacent to the building. Students will be asked to park on East Fourth Street north of the school and by the baseball fields. Staff will be permitted to park along Pine Avenue.

Staff and visitor parking will be moved to along the east side of the school between the school and track. The current main entrance to the building will be closed, thus shifting the main entrance to the east side of the school. Visitors will be able enter the building at the doors, located between the shop and gymnasium, and walk the hallway directly to the main office.

School buses will travel south along Fir Avenue and proceed between the high school and Muldown Elementary then turn on to Seventh Street, where students will be dropped off.

The left turn lane on Pine Avenue will be eliminated to allow for space for buses as they make a right turn off Seventh Street on to Pine. However, a left turn will still be allowed from Pine to Seventh.

“We’ve been working with the crossing guards to come up with the best way to get the kids from the buses to Muldown,” Dominick said. “The bus company suggested the buses come down and line up that way. That will minimize the congestion.”

Muldown Elementary parents will continue to be able drop-off and pick-up students in the main parking lot in front of the elementary school and have access to an eastern portion of the current high school parking lot. Cars accessing the current high school lot section will have to enter from the north at East Fourth Street and drive south to enter the lot. From the high school lot south to Seventh Street traffic will be one way, permitting traffic only to travel south.

Work on the gym includes replacing the floor, bleachers and scoreboards, as well as construction of a mezzanine and weight room, new paint and demolition of the press box.

Early work on the gymnasium remodel begins at the end of February. Crews will demolish the southern bleachers so that work can begin to construct a mezzanine. Work in the southern half of the gym will continue and after spring break the gym will be completely closed for construction.

Once the gym is closed for construction, physical education classes will meet outside when weather allows or at alternative locations such as The Wave or the Roy Duff Memorial Armory.

Construction work on the gym, and subsequently the construction of the new school, will cause graduation ceremonies for 2013 and 2014 to be relocated to Majestic Valley Arena.

The high school received a state Quality Schools Grant to replace the floor and install the new bleachers. To comply with the grant, the work for the gym must be completed by the end of June.

Dominick acknowledged that the time frame for completing the gym is tight.

“It would be better if we didn’t have to push it, but we will get it done,” he said.