Bid awarded for new turf, tracks at high schools

Published 8:00 pm Tuesday, January 15, 2019

A Florence company has been awarded the bid to install new artificial turf and new tracks as Vicksburg and Warren Central High schools.

Vicksburg Warren School District trustees awarded the bid at a special meeting Monday.

Florence-based Probity’s bid was $5.98 million for the project. Field Turf USA, which is headquartered in Quebec, Canada, with an office in Calhoun, Georgia, was the only other bidder on the project with $6.76 million.

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“We had a lot of interest, but because of the complexity of the work, it deterred a lot of people,” Jason Stewart, a project manager with project architects Dale Bailey Architects, said of the low number of bidders.

Jason Stewart said the project involves installing a polyurethane running surface on the tracks at Vicksburg and Warren Central, turf on the football and baseball fields at Vicksburg and Warren Central, and the softball field at Warren Central.

Stewart said work on the upgrades is expected to begin after Feb. 1, and the work will be done simultaneously at both schools.

“The baseball fields will start after this baseball season,” he said. “Both of the football fields have to be complete by football season in August.”

The installation of new turf on the athletic fields and the new track surfaces is the second project to get underway under an estimated $132 million project funded in part by an $83 million facilities bond referendum approved by voters March 27, and includes projects at each of the district’s 13 schools.

A $37 million renovation and remodeling program has begun at Vicksburg High School, and school district trustees are expected to advertise for bids on a $26.35 million renovation and remodeling project at Warren Central.

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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