The $6 million long-awaited expansion of Spring Hill Elementary School on Lewinsville Road has progressed through the summer.

The project includes adding 12 new classrooms, enlarging the cafeteria with a new stage, enlarging the drop-off area, and a new roof, according to John Torre, the spokesperson for Fairfax County Public Schools.

The expanded drop-off area should help ease traffic jams that now clog Lewinsville Road in the morning and the afternoon.

The expansion is scheduled for completion September 2013, Torre said.

This project also includes a controversial new stoplight and crosswalk at the school across from the Spring Hill Recreation Center. That light is scheduled to be installed in about a month, Torre said. 

Spring Hill principal Roger Vanderhye requested the light when he learned that the Spring Hill Recreation entrance would be moved to in front of the school.

“It’s a safety issue,” Vanderhye has said. “No one likes more stop lights but we thought this was a way to get parents and students safely across Lewinsville and our buses,” he said.