Emergency repairs will cause Raleigh school to relocate for start of classes
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- Durant Road Elementary students will temporarily relocate to Abbotts Creek Elementary.
- Repairs at Durant Road are expected to be done by Aug. 17, after classes began July 30.
- Wake County authorized emergency contracts after engineers found settling and cracks.
Emergency repairs will force students at one Wake County elementary school to temporarily relocate while the work will go down to the wire at two other schools.
Messages sent late Friday afternoon told families at Durant Road Elementary School in Raleigh that they’ll have to start the new school year on a nearby campus. Families at Creech Road Elementary School in Garner and Davis Drive Elementary School in Cary were told the repair work will be done a few days before classes start in August.
Earlier this week, the school board authorized Superintendent Robert Taylor to enter into emergency contracts for the repair work after all three schools were deemed unsafe for students. Engineers said the schools were settling and cracks were found in different parts of their campuses.
It’s not immediately clear how much the repairs will cost. Wake has said they expect crews to work 24/7 to get the repairs done.
Durant Road relocation
The Durant Road project has raised the most concerns because the first day of classes at the year-round school is July 30.
Wake said Friday it had found concerns with attachments between the steel roof deck and the steel frame, and between the steel frame and specific masonry walls.
“We have established a repair schedule that will allow students to return to our building as swiftly as possible without compromising safety or quality of work,” Wake told Durant families. “Under this schedule, we are expected to resume occupancy of the building no later than Aug 17.”
Wake will relocate students to nearby Abbotts Creek because students there are still on summer break until Aug. 24. Durant families were told additional information regarding schedules and start of year procedures will be shared early next week.
“At this time, there is no expectation that their occupancy will impact the start of our school year for students,” Abbotts Creek families were told in a message Friday.
Down to the wire at Creech Road and Davis
Wake has a little more time with Creech Road and Davis Drive because the first day of classes is Aug. 24.
Messages sent Friday to families at both schools said they’re expecting the work to be done so that they can resume occupancy by Aug. 21. Another update will be provided when the building has been officially cleared for occupancy.
The school board is expected to get an update on all three schools on Tuesday.
This story was originally published July 17, 2026 at 5:53 PM.
