The north tower of Texas High has been in the process of reconstruction due to some issues caused by when the tower was built originally. Fortunately, the problems were noticed before the 2017-2018 school year, and are currently being fixed.

“What we discovered back in early spring was that there were cracks in the sides of some bricks, and with further evaluation, we eventually sent out some engineers to analyze the building,” principal Brad Bailey said. “Soon we noticed that there was some settling in the foundation of the building, and we determined that it was a structural flaw in the original design.”

Action was immediately taken because the bricks had reached a point to where the Math and Science Building had become a safety hazard to the staff, students, and generally anyone who was near the north tower.

“When the tower was built, the brick was built with the math and science building, and there was no separation between the tower and the building. So every time the tower would move due to the wind or any other harsh conditions, it would pull on the Math and Science Building as well,” Bailey said. “If the tower or the building wasn’t fixed, the brick would start to fall off, and possibly hit someone causing serious injuries. The structure itself is concreted 10 to12 feet or more into the ground, so sometimes you can feel it shake a little bit when the wind moves it.”

The remodeling process of the building has been worked on for quite some time now, but it’s significant that everything is fixed well for not only the safety of the people at the school, but also for the building itself.

“Things are going great. Unfortunately, the redesign and reconstruction of a structure this large has been a lengthy process; however, we are confident in the design that we have implemented, and are making great progress on this project,” Chief Operating Officer Casey Nichols said. “Our target date for completion is August 20th. If at all possible, we want to have the tower fully functional prior to the first day of the school year.”

Until then, the immediate area around the north tower will be off limits and marked a construction zone.