Due to road construction that has closed a portion of Jackson Street, school buses will not pick up or drop off students at Houghtaling Elementary School on Baranof Avenue through at least Sept. 14.
Houghtaling students instead will be dropped off and picked up at Ketchikan High School. Escorts will lead those students to and from the high school.
District Business Manager Matthew Groves said that, although the other end of Baranof, at Carlanna Lake Road, is open, the change was needed because buses need too large of a radius to be able to turn around on Baranof.
Other than the location, the change should not affect overall bus schedules by more than a minute or two
“For First Student, it’s been just a little bit of rerouting and they have new drivers, so it’s just been adapting to that a little bit and making sure we get as much information out to parents as we can,” Groves said.
First Student is the name of the bus company.
Some students catch buses at Houghtaling to be transported to another school. Groves said those students also should meet their buses at Kayhi.
He said school staff is at the site, making sure all students stay away from the construction area when crossing to the high school. He said safe crossing is available in a slightly roundabout way.
“They’re able to walk behind Houghtaling or behind Revilla and transit, not on Fifth, anyway, but on Seventh and Fourth,” he said.
Parents of Houghtaling and Revilla students still can pick up or drop off at those schools, but traffic delays are likely.
