Bowman County will not host track meets this season. Here’s why.
By BRYCE MARTIN
Pioneer Editor | [email protected]
Bowman County Schools’ eight-lane track has gradually deteriorated over the years to the point that it’s now become a safety concern. Acknowledging the issue and its lack of options, the school recently decided to move forward with the construction of a new track with a steep price tag.
The Bowman County School Board voted last month to move forward with a $650,000 project to redo the school’s track. Because of the track’s present state, administrators have opted to forgo holding any track meets at the school for the upcoming season.
The large-scale project to redo the track, which was constructed in the mid- to late-80s, is slated to begin in late May or early June, but Tyler Senn, athletic director and high school principal, said his hope is that the cold, wet weather would clear up and some aspects of the project could begin earlier than anticipated.
Constructing a new track in Bowman has been an issue discussed for several years. As the condition of the track continued to degrade, Senn began examining contingencies for Bowman’s dates to host track meets. While the school isn’t letting their dates go — the dates will resume in Bowman for the 2017 track season — this year’s meets scheduled in Bowman will now be held elsewhere.
Meets at other schools in Bowman’s region of play would simply become larger, Senn said.
Killdeer Public Schools volunteered to pick up one of Bowman’s meet dates. The Badlands Conference was to be hosted in Bowman this year, but was adjusted so that the varsity team would head to Hazen and junior high team to Watford City.
“It’ll be a year of transition for us,” said Jonathon Jahner, head track coach. “In the tradeoff, if we can get 40 good years out of the (new) base … that’s going to be awesome for us.”
The asphalt below the track’s top surface — called Tartan, an all-weather synthetic track surface made of polyurethane — has broken apart so much that some areas of the Tartan no longer adhere to the base. Those cracks continue to widen with the annual freeze and thaw cycle.
The track’s underlying base is “less than marginal,” said Bowman County Superintendent Tony Duletski, who labeled the culprit as the school land’s high water table and soil type.
But there’s more lending to the problem as Duletski acknowledged that the base of the track was filled with cement footings from the old school after it had burnt down and was then backfilled. “When we bore, we’ve got some real issues there,” he said.
Duletski said the track was resurfaced more than 10 years ago when he first began as superintendent. “At that time, they told us … once it gets to a point of no return, don’t plan on resurfacing it.”
If they had, it would’ve been a waste of money, he said. “It’s become more than just a patch job.”
With the asphalt coming loose, high winds have gotten underneath the track and lifted it, ripping up chunks.
The current track’s condition hasn’t had any noticeable effects on athletic performance, according to Jahner, who also confirmed the track is becoming a hazard. And it’s not just student athletes that utilize the track since it’s also open to the public.
That’s a big liability issue, according to Duletski, who said anyone using the track could trip over the uneven spots. That is where discussion began on redoing the track.
“In the past, things have leveled off (but) that’s not happening anymore,” he said. “We’re at a point right now that something has to be done.”
Once complete, the new track will look and feel the same, but will be a little elevated.
Click here for an interactive rendering of the new track (right click to download)
The school signed a contract with Fisher Tracks, Inc. of Boone, Iowa, which Duletski said had previously done work in the region.
Existing Tartan and asphalt of the track will be pulverized and used as a sub-base. Crews will then pour five inches of concrete over the top, totaling nearly 800 yards.
The process will use a specialized form of concrete called post tension concrete, which is where steel cables go through the concrete and are pulled taught to achieve a maximum amount of stress. That would prevent any cracks.
A new Tartan surface would be laid well after the concrete is cured and as daily temperatures allow.
The new track comes with a 40- to 70-year guaranteed lifespan.
“It’s a concept that has been used a number of years over a period of time on bridges and highways,” Duletski said.
The new track at Killdeer Public School, which was completed last year, used the same process. Killdeer’s six-lane track had been crumbling and was in a great state of disrepair.
“What our track is now is what theirs was when they demolished it,” he explained.
The cost of the project, totaling nearly $650,000, will be funded by monies awarded to the school above and beyond the normal funding the district receives from the state.
Those funds were not part of the budget approved by the school board last year.
Duletski confirmed that no cuts would have to be made for the project to become a reality and the school would not need nor seek bonding.
The cost of the project includes changes the school would have to make to fencing surrounding the athletic complex.
Another component to the project concerns the long jump and pole vault pits that Senn said are incorrectly placed near the track, posing a further liability.
Construction plans call for the pits to be demolished and moved, correcting a potential liability for the school as they sit too closely to the football field and too closely to the first lane of the track. The long jump will rest outside the track, still within the complex, on the east side then enclosed with an extension of the current fencing. The pole vault pit will sit on the back of the east goal post and the high jump area will be on the back of the west goal post. Discus, javelin, and shot-put throwing areas will be outside the complex.
Some drainage issues on the field would also be remedied once the project is completed.
“They’re not touching the field, in terms of ripping the grass up or the sprinkler system, that’s off limits,” Duletski affirmed.
Senn projected the entire project to be finished before the end of summer, with most of the timeline dedicated to the cure time of the concrete. Team practice would still be held on the current track, prior to construction, but avoiding the interior and exterior-most lanes.
“It’s going to be a great addition to the community,” Jahner said of the new track. “The old one, we definitely got our use out of.”
