SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) - No students in class means construction crews can get more work done on some Springfield schools.

The major renovations at several Springfield Public Schools are running on budget and on time, according to Director of Operations Travis Shaw. Some projects involve total building renovations, others include secure entrances.

"Nobody's in the building so we don't have to build temporary walls," Travis said. "We don't have deal with a lot of those preparatory things that we normally would. Not to mention they can fast track other items and get those projects moving at a more rapid pace."

There have been no students in school since March and teachers are expected to get their furniture out of Sunshine Elementary the end of this month. Shaw said that'll speed work up even more.

"They're realistically going to get an entire month of additional time to be able to work on the interior of that space that they didn't expect to get," Shaw said.

With no students in class at Sunshine Elementary, more construction progress is happening. Same goes with road work. With less traffic, crews have fewer things to worry about.

"It reduces the risk if you will. The less cars out there, the less opportunity for something unfortunate to happen," said Martin Gugle, with Springfield Public Works.

Back inside the school, crews are now wearing masks and taking more time to clean their work areas.

"Social distancing while you are on a construction site. That's a difficult thing to do," Shaw said.

Shaw said the coronavirus may have changed many things about construction, but getting students in their new classrooms has stayed at the forefront of Shaw's mind.

"It'll be a great day in Springfield schools and we've got a lot more projects to come that we'll get to experience that," Shaw said.

The next phase of projects at Springfield schools is set to start this summer, with a completion date of 2022.

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Construction crews making progress on Springfield schools with no students in class - KY3