ABOVE: The Fairmont High School tennis courts are currently midway through construction, with asphalt scheduled to be laid down next week Monday after rain stopped it from being put down Thursday. Currently the plan is for everything to be done by August 7, before tennis activities start anew before the next school year.

FAIRMONT – Having started on the last week of school, crews are hitting their stride on a project to redo the Fairmont High School tennis courts.

Fairmont Area Schools Director of Buildings and Grounds, Tyler Garrison, said the issues the previous courts had were going on for multiple years.

“We had some large cracks in the surface where expansion joints were supposed to be,” he said. “The expansion joints just kept spreading and getting larger, so it started to become a hazard to players and those playing. We’ve been talking about the last three years, and finally I’ve had it getting done.”

As for why the project got in now, Garrison said it has to do with how long-term facilities maintenance (LTFM) money works.

“We use long-term facility money funds for this project,” he said. “Trying to fit that in sometimes takes a year or two to get it into our budget, because that’s used for roofing or anything that needs repair. We’re in that timeline where we could get it fit in, and that’s why we’re at where we’re at.”

After tennis wrapped up and crews from Nielsen Blacktopping were able to get started, thanks to plans from ISG, they’ve been hard at work.

“They were able to mill everything down,” Garrison said. “They’ve got all the cement ribbons around the perimeter under all the fencing poured. They were supposed to start and do the first layer of black top [Thursday], but the rain pushed them off until Monday. Monday, they’ll come in and put that first layer in, and that’ll be a two-inch layer.

From there, footings will be drilled in, a final layer goes on late next week and then it will sit for 30 days before paint and acrylic coats are put on.

Since it is a LTFM project, Garrison said they can’t make any major changes and can only replace what is currently there. Within those boundaries, he said they are adding concrete ribbons around the asphalt this time so it can keep that material condensed and compacted.

The project also has to be done completely over the summer, finishing before programs begin ahead of the next school year. Garrison said with athletics projects it takes collaboration.

“Tennis coaches worked with us just because they have summer camps,” he said. “It’s been a process of making sure we’re fitting this in between, and they had to adjust with their summer tennis camps. It’s been a process to work with the coaches to get that all finalized and get the timelines in there we need.”

While most of it has been the outside contractors, Garrison said his crew has also been able to assist.

“We had to pull all the fencing around it,” he said. “In between the courts, my guys had to remove all the individual slats. Then they’ll have to put those back in, so there are wind slats we had to take out and put back in. We did some removal of other items in there before they got started, and we’ll have to put back in when they’re done.”

Throughout this process, Garrison said there has been a fair share of attention on it.

“We’ve got a lot of drive-byers that come by and look at it,” he said. “It’s exciting to see something new come into play like that. I know the community uses it a lot, so it’s a benefit for them as well.”

At this point, there are just a few steps in the process left, but plenty of waiting.

“Once they get their black topping in, they’ll finish the concrete around the outside where they drive in and out,” Garrison said. “They’ll be putting their posts in for the nets on the playing courts, and then that’ll have to sit for the 30 days or more, and then the tennis court company will come in and do their finished surface on there for playing.”

Currently, the project is set to be done by August 7.