UPPER SUSITNA VALLEY �” Construction of Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School is underway and progressing well in the northern part of the Mat-Su Borough, Public Works Director Keith Roundtree said.

Wasilla-based Collins Construction won the contract to build the school, which burned down in June 2007.

Roundtree said in an e-mail that Collins is working on excavation, backfill, underground work and construction of the new school’s concrete footings and walls.

Courtesy photo Construction crews with Collins Construction work on the foundation of the new Su Valley Jr./Sr. High School. The previous school burned down in June 2007, forcing students into portables at the Su Valley Senior Center.

“Within the next two weeks they will begin pouring slabs,” Roundtree said, adding workers hope to have concrete slabs poured and all groundwork done before freeze-up. After that, the building process goes vertical. Workers could be in for a chilly next few months, especially considering most of the new school is made from steel.

Students at Su Valley have been learning in portable classrooms set up on property owned by the Su Valley Senior Center.

Since school is back in session, and students are often using the track and football fields, Collins Construction plowed a path through the woods so no one would have to pass through the construction zone, Roundtree said.

But even as construction continues at Su Valley, Borough officials are grappling with an insurance company that’s in disagreement as to how much money should be paid for the burned-down school.

The insurance company, Allianz, is claiming it should only have to pay what the old, burned-down school was worth, Roundtree said. That causes a problem because the previous school was out-of-date and the new school is being built to modern standards, which costs more.

“It’s almost like apples and oranges,” Roundtree said. “We won’t redo the building as it was.”

Construction got off to a later-than-expected start after the Borough halted the bidding process for what it called a violation of its request for proposal rules.

In a June, Borough Manger John Duffy said the violations did not involve anyone from the proposal evaluation team. Duffy did not go into specifics regarding what happened to disqualify the bids.

Collins Construction has an incentive in the form of a bonus if it beats its completion deadline of December 2009. Prior to rebidding the job, Borough officials had hoped to have the new school open for the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman Tom Kluberton, who lives near Talkeetna, said from what he’s seen the construction seems to be progressing nicely.

“Things are definitely moving along,” Kluberton said. “They’re working their hearts out over there.”

But construction can’t go fast enough for some students at Su Valley.

Principal Rob Picou, who made the move north from his principal post at Burchell High School this year, said his students are waiting anxiously.

“The anticipation is in the air with every truck that drives back there,” Picou said.

He added committee processes have already begun to choose what artwork and furniture will go into the new building.