Drivers passing Arcadia High School on Duarte Road and El Monte Avenue may have noticed more construction going on lately. Great news for students and parents: the portable classroom and office units taking up so many of the parking spaces in the lots off El Monte have been removed, with the parking lots scheduled to undergo a substantial grading, electrical, and flatwork and re-opened for in time student use next fall, according to school officials.
This will allow the re-opening of the long-closed entrance/exit to the lot at the traffic light on Duarte Road, relieving much of the congestion on El Monte Avenue every morning and afternoon. The work will net at least a couple dozen or more spots in the south parking lot at El Monte and Duarte, and the resurrection of the entire center lot accessed from El Monte, according to Jim Leahy, Director of Construction Projects.
Even more prominent to passersby is the major construction occurring on the high school campus along Duarte Road between the tennis courts and the south gym. That’s where the swimming pool used to be. A new CIF-certified competitive pool with grandstands, a scoreboard, and floating goals for water polo is being built that is scheduled to open this summer. But that’s not all — the pool will be part of an ADA-compliant enclosed aquatics area with a new multi-use facility featuring physical therapy, athletic training, and a multi-purpose room that will be complete in time for the 2015-16 school year. (More photos below…) Meanwhile, AUSD Public Information Officer Ryan Foran says the new school library is complete and a remodeled cafe will be completed in time for a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for both on Feb. 19.
— By Scott Hettrick
