EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – Students and staff at Mater Dei High School are sharing their campus with construction crews as the school’s largest renovation project in more than a decade is underway during the first week of classes.
The “Growing in Grace” campaign — a $22 million construction effort — includes a new parking lot, a six-lane track, a new band facility, and renovations to the chapel and auditorium. The campaign has raised more than $21 million toward its goal.
Planning ahead for traffic and congestion
School leaders spent the summer mapping out traffic flow to prepare for added congestion on campus. Deacon Dan Niemeier, president of Mater Dei High School, said administrators analyzed traffic patterns and communicated plans to families before the school year began.
“We did a lot of pre-planning,” Niemeier said. “Our principal, Mr. Knight, and his administrators did a lot of analysis of what’s going on here, looking at the traffic flows, what the construction pinch points were, and developing a flow and a pattern and communicated it extensively to our parents — so they had some comfort level as they came down here and tried to find the best way and the safest way to drop off these kids and get in and out of here.”…