Columbus East auditorium improvements moving forward

A $3.8 million dollar project to update the auditorium at Columbus East High School has been underway this summer, but now it is getting to the noisy part — tearing up the concrete floor.

Dr. Brett Boezeman, director of operations for Bartholomew Consolidated Schools, updated the school board on the status of construction projects and safety upgrades, during last night’s board meeting.

Boezeman said that the East project is going to bring that auditorium up to the same quality level of the Columbus North High School auditorium. That will mean new lighting, sound equipment and changing the seating area — a part of the project that requires removing the existing concrete.

Boezeman said that the floor will be sawed into pieces and hauled out. As of yet , workers don’t know exactly how deep the sloped concrete floor actually is but they are estimating four to five inches, he said.

Crews have been working on demolition, including removing the seating, which will be mostly recycled, Boezeman said. Dunlap and Co. is the contractor for the project.