Still lodged in the memories of Louisville and Winston County residents is the tornado of April 2014, the most devastating result being the loss of a number of friends and neighbors. The need for a storm shelter had been apparent for some time, and Louisville had been on the list to receive federal aid to help with the construction.
The storm moved Louisville up the list, and construction of the saferoom has begun. According to Joey Henderson of JBHM Architects of Columbus, MS the contractors received the notice to proceed effective March 12. The project has about two weeks of work under its belt.
The shelter will be a domed structure, which will aid in airflow over the building, constructed of concrete blocks, reinforced with steel and a process of blowing concrete onto the structure, similar to the process of blowing concrete onto swimming pools. The structure is designed to withstand winds up to 250 m.p.h.
The 12.8K square foot building will have a brick veneer which will be much more aesthetically pleasing, and is designed to be a multipurpose structure available for many uses. There will also be an agreement in place allowing use by the elementary school during school hours.
The project site is located at the southeast corner of the intersection of College St. and N. Columbus Ave. According to Henderson the site is tight, requiring the use of one lane of College St., from N. Columbus Ave. down to N. Court Ave., for offloading essentially making it a one-lane street, for the duration of construction which should be completed by the end of the year. Even with the one-lane street children will still be able to exit vehicles in a safe manner.
A bigger problem is the issue of teacher parking, which will be alleviated with the construction of a new parking lot at the elementary school. However, that lot will not be completed before the end of this school year.
Louisville Mayor Will Hill added that they are aware of the inconvenience that this poses, but asked for everyone’s patience. He said, “We realize it’s going to be a headache, especially for the next nine weeks. It’s going to change traffic flow, it’s going to be a burden, but this project is going to be well worth it, and it will outlive our days. It’s one of those historical projects to be a part of.”
Construction will be completed by Burks Mordecai Builders of Columbus.
