Morris High School’s new elevator up and running

The new $2.18 million elevator under construction at Morris Community High School is now up and running, making the school more accessible to those in wheelchairs and on crutches.

The project finished at the end of January, and had been under consideration since at least 2010.

Superintendent Craig Ortiz said the elevator has been a godsend. Students in wheelchairs had been relying on chair lifts to traverse the many, many stairs throughout the school as the building changes levels whenever entering a new section.

The project included a three-story addition between the 1949 original building and the 1959 building addition that now allows handicap access to all five floors of the building.

Ortiz said the elevator construction also addressed some plumbing and water issues that have been plaguing the school for a long time.