GLASGOW — The Barren County Schools Board of Education broke ground Wednesday in anticipation of the new athletic complex and Community Technology Education facility on the campus of Barren County High School.   

Phase 1 of the project includes demolition of the current football field and laying the foundation for the new facility, which is supposed to conclude by Jan. 23 and cost about $1,025,000, according to Superintendent Bo Matthews. 

The second and final phase, which includes building the structure that will house parts of the athletic complex and CTE facility, is supposed to begin in January, he said.

“This is really addressing multiple needs in one project,” he said. 

The project will turn the football field into a facility for all sorts of football and track and field events, Matthews said.

Switching from grass to artificial turf will allow the field to be used more frequently and enlarging the facility will enable the school to host larger events than it could before, he said.

The CTE facility will house additional classrooms that are needed because of increased enrollment and spaces to teach information technology, culinary arts, biomedical science and engineering classes, Matthews said.

“It’s an opportunity to grow each of those classes,” he said.    

From start to finish, the entire project is expected to take two years and cost roughly $7 million, Matthews said.