SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. -- The Greenville County School District is nearing the finish line on a six-year, 70 school, $1.88 billion construction project.

On the first day of school Tuesday morning, the 68th and 69th schools opened their doors.

Rudolph Gordon Elementary in Simpsonville and Ralph Chandler Middle School in Fork Shoals welcomed their first students.

Both were added to the construction list after the project began in 2001 to help relieve overcrowding.

"We are actually blending together two schools Bells Crossing and Bryson Elementary that is primarily where our students are coming from," said Gordon Elementary principal Jackie Parker.

The district says building so many schools in a short time period saved more than a billion dollars in design and supply costs. A project of this size would typically take twenty years.

District spokesman Oby Lyles calls the project an equalizer, giving every student in the district access to nice buildings and new technology.

"I think it is important that every child, regardless how much money their parents make, what their job is, or where they come from, will all have the same advantages," said school principal Jackie Parker.

The final school in this building plan is A.J. Whittenburg Elementary.

It is expected to open in 2010 in downtown Greenville as part of the Salvation Army Kroc Center.

Because of projected growth in Greenville County another building plan is in the works.

It would call for the construction of another four new schools in the next 10 years.