Work on the Lehigh Elementary School project is resuming - but in phases.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, construction screeched to a halt March 20 following a March 19 announcement by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf that ordered non-life-sustaining businesses to close.

D’Huy Engineering, project engineer for the $35.7 million project, will coordinate the restart, according to Northampton Area School District Superintendent of Schools Joseph S. Kovalchik.

“We’re going to resume some kind of activity Wednesday (April 15) of this week,” Kovalchik said. “We’re doing this because we’re being allowed to do it by the Department of Education.”

Kovalchik noted the district will be following the guidelines set forth by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We’re actually going to employ an industrial hygienist,” Kovalchik said. “That person will be on site every day to check the temperatures of every person coming onto the site.”

In addition, NASD is hiring a professional cleaning company for the construction site. Cleaning company personnel will be on site daily.

Kovalchik said D’Huy Engineering will determine which construction crew or crews start first. Not all construction workers will be working at the same time, Kovalchik explained. The work will be staggered. Contractor and subcontractor crews worked simultaneously before the construction halt.

“We’re also going to have to follow the 6-foot social separation requirements,” Kovalchik said.

It is uncertain how many construction workers will be on the site at the 97,000-square-foot building along Blue Mountain Drive, Lehigh Township.

“D’Huy will work out the schedule of work to be completed,” Kovalchik said of the project timeline, with the school scheduled to open in fall 2021.

“We’re not going to force anyone to come work on the construction site,” Kovalchik emphasized.

Replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system at Siegfried Elementary School in the borough is scheduled to be undertaken in the summer. Smaller district facilities improvement projects may also take place.

A link titled Guidance and Resources for School Communities can be found on the Pennsylvania Department of Education website, education.pa.gov.

“School districts should use best judgment in exercising their authority to continue critical construction projects and should not seek a formal exemption through the Department of Community and Economic Development,” the website explained. “All school district construction decisions should appropriately balance public health and safety while ensuring the continued safety of critical infrastructure.

“School districts and the contractors must ensure continuance of and compliance with the social distancing and other mitigation measures to protect employees and the public, including virtual and telework operations (e.g., work from home) as the primary option when available, as have been or will be established by the Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” according to the website. “In-person work is only to be performed on the most limited basis possible.”

At the March 23 and April 6 school board meetings, held via videoconferencing, Kovalchik indicated the likelihood of schools not reopening for the fourth marking period of the 2019-20 school year. Faced with that reality, Kovalchik and NASD administrators, teachers and employees now face numerous challenges.

The school board is scheduled to meet virtually 6:30 p.m. April 20.

Kovalchik, NASD Business Administrator Matthew Sawarynski and NASD Secretary to the Superintendent Denise A. Vilkauskas are again expected to convene in the meeting room at the administration building, 2014 Laubach Ave., Northampton.