Ranger Construction earned high marks at several Florida schools over the summer by finishing road and paving projects in time for the new school year.
When the bell rang for the first time ever at River Springs Middle School in Orange City, Ranger’s North Division was notably absent – and that was a good thing.
Ranger was given access to the jobsite about a week before 1,200 students descended on the high-tech campus. The assignment? Laying more than 980 tons of asphalt in parking areas, driveways and turning lanes, then skipping out before the doors opened.
“We encourage our school community to ‘be there’ in support of our students,” Principal John R. Atkinson writes on the school’s web site. But Ranger North did its part by not being there, earning high grades from school officials and from White’s Site Development, which prepared the land.
In Miami-Dade County, Ranger Construction South paved the way for two new schools to open on schedule and it, too, faced a time crunch in doing so. The division handled the asphalt work for James Pirtle Construction, completing all driveways and parking areas at Coconut Palm K-8 Academy in Miami and Mandarin Lakes K-8 Academy in Homestead.
Significant challenges arose when change orders left crews just six weeks to complete access roads to the schools. But the roadways were completed on schedule “against all odds,” says Danny Garcia, Branch Manager of Ranger South’s Miami operations. On top of actually forming up the roadways, creating drainage systems and laying asphalt in time for buses to roll on opening day, Ranger had to overcome issues with permits, design modifications and rain delays.
Ranger South also performed work at a third Miami school over the summer, reworking and repaving existing driveways and parking areas for Frank C. Martin Elementary School. The contract also included new curbs and striping.