After four years of practicing on a track with lanes too small, the BHS and BJHS track programs finally will get their facility track repaired.

Superintendent Paul Dorathy said that the outside lane of the track was six inches narrower than it was designed.

“The district had paid for a track with 42″ lanes and the outside lane was 36″.  This has made it difficult to place hurdles in the outside lane as the outside edge of the hurdle does not have a base,” Dorathy said. “There are also some safety issues with having the lane narrower than normal, although most of the time runners run on the inside portion of the lane.”

USD 348 does not have to pay for the track repair, but they do have to pay for the rubber to replace on the track

“The district did not pay for any of the asphalt repairs, which would have been the most costly part of the repair,” Dorathy said. “The district is paying $6K for the extra rubber base that was not included to finish the width of the lane. The district did not pay for the extra rubber when the track was first constructed.”

The track is being repaired by the same company that made it the first time.

“The track surface repairs are being done by Fisher Tracks. The asphalt repairs are being done by Sunflower Paving. Fisher Tracks are also putting structural spray on the track that is not a part of the repairs,” Dorathy said.

Dorathy does not know when the track will be finished, it should be finished before track season he hopes.

“The project can be completed as soon as we have some days that remain above 40 degrees in temperature,” Dorathy said. “Our timeline is now based on the weather.”

For track coach Mike Spielman, he is excited for it to be fixed as soon as possible.

“It will be great to finally have the track completed as it is supposed to be done,” Spielman said.