A new wearing layer of asphalt on Lehighton Area Middle School's front parking lot will cost the district around $47,000, according to estimates from its project manager Monday night.

Lehighton's school board unanimously approved a change order for the work, and while the repairs were unforeseen, things could have been worse."The first scenario was to completely remove the entire parking lot down to new dirt and build it complete from there," Karl Kauffman, project manager for Quandel Construction, said. "That would have cost between $165,000 and $180,000."A proof-rolling compaction test, however, showed a relatively solid base."After that test, the civil engineer recommended only removing about 25 percent of the lot in the worst areas and doing a selective replacement," Kauffman said. "That brought the price down significantly and the district will still get around 20 years out of that partial repair."The work was required after crews discovered the binder course of asphalt was almost nonexistent in some areas of the lot.Lehighton Business Manager Brian Feick said the district is already putting money into capital reserve in anticipation that the lower parking lot, in between the middle school and the football field, will need a complete replacement."That has been unstable for a long time and has had problems with water coming up through," Feick said.The lower parking lot, according to building and grounds manager Joe Hauser, was never intended for that use but was initially paved for tennis courts.With Monday's approval, work at the upper parking lot can be completed before the start of school, Kauffman said.