Delayed Jones Gym Entrance Should Be Done in February, Officials Say

What was supposed to be a short-term project to refurbish the entrance to Jones Gym at Cherry Hill West has now stretched months beyond the original plan, but Cherry Hill school officials said underlying problems are to blame and work should be done by roughly the middle of February.

Problems emerged nearly as soon as contractors ripped away the concrete facing at the end of last summer, officials said, and were serious enough where they couldn’t be ignored.

Both the masonry block behind the façade and several of the structural steel columns inside the masonry had major issues, officials said, requiring contractors to install temporary supports and tear out the compromised portions of the entrance structure.

The time needed to engineer and fabricate new steel pushed the timeline even further, officials said—the steel arrived just before winter break, and has since been installed, and the rest of the project can proceed as originally intended when it started in August of last year.

Barring further weather-related issues—the project’s been delayed by rain, snow and extreme temperatures—the rebuilt entrance should be open by the middle of next month, officials said.

Meanwhile, winter sports fans will continue to have to use a secondary entrance at the nearby breezeway, a situation—despite signs at the construction site—that’s caused plenty of confusion, especially for visiting parents and fans.