Cement mixers loaded with grout began filing into Trapnell Elementary School on Thursday as crews worked to fill the large underground void that closed the school two weeks ago.
Crews are piping the grout from the trucks into casings leading to the void, which is between 80 and 120 feet underground. The void stretches from the school administration building to near a classroom building on the east side of the campus.
Left unfilled, the void could collapse and become a sinkhole.
R. Clay Ward, facilities maintenance support manager for the school district, said work is on target and he expects the school will open in three or four weeks, barring unforeseen circumstances.
The district examined the campus with ground-penetrating radar and detected a smaller underground void between two classroom buildings. It will be filled, too, Ward said. The district also found some minor cracks in buildings, he said.
Ward had no estimate on how much the project will cost, but he said he expects some of the expense to be covered by insurance.
The district is setting up a small cement mixing plant on the site to speed the work, he said. In the meantime, cement mixers are bringing grout to the campus.
The district won't reopen the school at 1605 W. Trapnell Road until officials are confident the buildings are safe, he said.
Third-, fourth- and fifth-graders were moved to Strawberry Crest High School after Trapnell was closed Jan. 20. Trapnell's students in Head Start, kindergarten and first and second grades are using borrowed classrooms at Bailey Elementary School.
Dozens of sinkholes and voids were reported after farmers pumped millions of gallons of water to protect their crops from freezing weather in early January.
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