EVSC WEBSITE TO KEEP FAMILIES UP TO DATE ON ROAD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

A new webpage on the EVSC Office of Transportation website will be dedicated to informing families of road construction projects, and the effect on bus routes in the EVSC, said Director of Transportation Michael Mentzel. Families can see the new site by going to www.evscschools.com/bus.

Transporting more than 15,000 students twice each day is no casual feat – and when road construction or other obstacles present themselves, the EVSC turns to its routing coordinators and computer software, Versatrans, to come up with the best solution to get students to and from school safely and on time. “It is not as simple as just deciding to take a different route,” Mentzel said. “We have to often break up a route into multiple parts due to the closures, find alternate ways to get to destinations – sometimes even changing where the bus stops will be – and notify families and students’ teachers at their schools, so that students know where to be to get on and off the bus.”

Director of Transportation Mike Mentzel said the year-long road widening project that began in June and is taking place on Oak Hill Road from Pigeon Creek to Lynch Road, affects thousands of residents, including families whose children attend Vogel Elementary, North Junior High and North High School.  Contractor Ragle, Inc., has announced a section of the road that will be opened for local traffic, and a new section that will be closed beginning Sept. 23.

According to Jason Ragle, manager of the Oak Hill Project, the timeline for the rest of September and October includes:

• Sept. 16-18: Paving of two lanes from Max Road to Lake Drive.  Buses will be allowed through.
• Sept. 19 after 9 a.m.: Lake Drive will open
• Sept. 23: Capitol Boulevard will be closed for several weeks. Capitol to Ridgetop Drive will be completely closed because there will be a large hole in the road.  Riders of Bus N87 will be divided, with some students traveling on Bus 201 and the rest on N87 – until this phase of the road project is completed.

EVSC Asst. Routing Coordinator Teresa Keeton, said that changes in bus routes will begin with the afternoon route on Thursday, September 19.  The school bus will no longer be able to travel all the way up to homes on Capitol Boulevard, so the route will be split in portions – with one bus picking up students living off Oak Hill Road, south of Capitol; and another bus that will instead travel on  Hwy 41, east on Lynch Road, and then south on the portion of Oak Hill Road on the north end that is not yet closed to local traffic, to pick up students off Capitol Boulevard

As portions of the project are completed, the routes will continue to change, Keeton said.

Parents, principals, and teachers have been notified of the coming changes in route, pick up times, and buses – but for anyone with questions they can find the information and routing maps – located on the Transportation website at www.evscschools.com/bus. Anyone with children attending Vogel, North or North Junior High, who may be new to the area, or who did not receive a letter from the Office of Transportation should call 435-1BUS.