Work under way on new track, turf football field The $1.97 million replacement of the track and football field at East Brunswick High School is off and running. The natural grass field is being replaced with synthetic turf, and the surrounding track will be made of a rubberized material designed for longevity. The project is expected to be completed in late October, meaning the facilities will not be available for fall sports. The home football games will be played at other high schools, and track meets will also be held elsewhere. School Business Administrator Bernardo Giuliana said the old track and field were sorely in need of replacement. The grass field was constantly being worn out due to its use for football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and other sports. "The continuous use doesn't allow grass to grow. Natural fields need a resting period," Giuliana said. This also caused drainage problems, he said, with water pooling on the field because the slope from the center of the field had been beaten down and leveled. PHOTOSBYJEFF GRANIT staff Clockwise: The football field and track at East Brunswick High School is undergoing construction totaling $2 million. Bleachers overlook field and track construction. A man works while knee deep in mud at the site on Monday. "The field was really not up to what we needed it to be for our sports programs," Giuliana said. The Board of Education and the athletic department agreed the best alternative was to replace it with artificial turf, he said, adding that officials researched the matter and visited other schools where the turf was in use. Made by FieldTurf, the new surface will be able to be used as often as needed. The old running track, which Giuliana described as a surface coating over a blacktop base, was patched and repaired on many occasions over the years, and had bubbles popping up and "a lot of bad areas around the perimeter of the track," he said. It will be replaced by a Mondo rubber track. "We needed to make sure that we got longevity with the replacement track so we would not have to deal with the constant repairs," Giuliana said. "We couldn't keep up with the patching. It was in very bad shape." American Athletic Courts Inc., of Vincent-Town, won the bid for the project and began the work in early July. It also includes the installation of a new drainage system, new fencing around the football field, and a new scoreboard and goal posts. Funding for the project was included in the 2006-07 school budget. - Brian Donahue