Chinle Boarding School

Navajo Indian Reservation, AZ

Stronghold Engineering, Inc. served as the prime contractor for the Chinle Boarding School new construction project, remotely located in a controlled-access Native American reservation located at Many Farms, Ariz. The 33,000 sq. ft. project created two new three-story dormitories with 26 separate rooms (52 rooms total with semi-private and private bathrooms), parking lots, recreational areas and basketball courts. Community and service cores included administrative, office, media center, billiard room, and lounge areas.

During construction, the customer initiated modifications that were not in the original scope of work, such as rerouting of the existing 6′ water line, the addition of a radon barrier, and reworking of the primary underground feeder cables to a new transformer. Stronghold responded by adjusting the schedule to accommodate the new work items. No corrective actions were required.

Stronghold surmounted the challenges of extreme weather conditions throughout the project, including exceptionally high winds and cold temperatures. To overcome difficulties of working in high wind conditions, Stronghold started roofing work early in the morning to complete the necessary tasks before the winds picked up in the afternoons. Stronghold worked through extreme winter conditions of daytime temperature lows averaging 20°F, and often reaching temperatures below 20°. Special precautions were taken while heating concrete and mortar during the winter months. There was no delay in the project’s completion time due to weather conditions.