Belmont track ready for use

BELMONT — Reconstruction of the Belmont High School track has concluded, and Shaker Regional School District Superintendent Michael Tursi wants residents to know they are welcome to use it.

Student-athletes had to stop using the track in the spring of 2017 when bubbling and delamination began posing a safety hazard for competitors, and the Shaker Regional School Board closed the track completely at the beginning of the school year in September, no longer allowing Belmont and Canterbury residents to use the track for walking and running.

Addressing the problems was expected to cost between $300,000 and $500,000, and the district did not expect to have the work completed until August of this year. Instead, Tursi reported on Wednesday, the track reconstruction was completed about two weeks ago, well ahead of the start of athletics practices in August, and the cost came in on the lower end of the estimate, right around $300,000.

“It’s ready to go, and we’re very pleased with the outcome,” Tursi said. “I most look forward to getting our student-athletes back on the track so they can perform at their highest level.”

The superintendent expressed his gratitude to the School Board for approving the project, the taxpayers for supporting the work, and the area high schools that allowed the Shaker athletes to practice and compete at their facilities while the track was closed.

The issues

Problems with the track’s surface began appearing just three months after it was resurfaced in 2016, Tursi said. The rubber surface was bubbling and the district thought the problem lay with the adhesive bonding between the rubber and the original track, which had been built in 1998. Attempts to patch it only made it worse, he said.

The district hired Harriman, a civil engineering firm based in Auburn, Maine, to assess the problem, and the firm determined that, while the adhesive and an inadequate primer on the original surface were part of the problem, the new surface also contained latex, which trapped water and led to delamination. The track also did not have enough of a pitch between the outer and inner lanes to carry away the water, and there were other drainage problems.

The district’s legal counsel said that, because of the multiple problems, it would be difficult to hold the resurfacing contractor liable, and “we could have been in litigation for years without any guarantee that we’d prevail,” Tursi said.

The district’s insurance policy also would not cover the repairs.

The solution

The School Board decided to use money in the unexpended fund balance to cover the cost of the track repairs, and Harriman developed the specifications to put the project out to bid last fall. GMI Asphalt LLC of Belmont did much of the work, while Maine Track and Tennis of Gray, Maine, put in the new surface. Fred Farrell of Farrell Consulting and Sport Surfacing, who was the original owner of Maine Track and Tennis, served as the consultant and project manager to oversee the work.

Work began by stripping off the surface, removing a section of culvert that lay under one portion of the track, and grinding down the original track. After regrading the track, it was allowed to sit through the winter to allow it to settle and determine whether there were any drainage issues.

“There was no heaving issue, and no problem with drainage,” Tursi said. The section of culvert that had been removed to prevent heaving had not been carrying any water, so it was not needed, he noted.

At the start of the spring, GMI returned for two new phases of work, including the fine grading.

Maine Track and Tennis placed a new rubber surface on the track in mid-June, and the striping was completed during the second week of July.

The resurfacing project also allowed the school district to improve the pole vault and high jump area at the track.

“It was a significant project, but our one concern was for the safety of those using the track,” Tursi said. “There were thousands of students using that track when you consider the number of schools that participate in track and field, but we’re pleased that we’re ahead of schedule in getting the project complete.”

Tursi said he learned more about track construction than he had anticipated when he began asking questions and following the progress of the work.

“It’s more than clearing a space and laying down a surface,” he said. “I gained a whole new appreciation of what it takes.”

The gate to the track is left open to allow Belmont and Canterbury residents to access it when games are not in progress. Tursi said he has sent out an email alert to let people know it is now ready for use.

“We consider it a community track,” he said.