While students are enjoying winter break, construction crews are busy working on Whitefish High School’s new addition that is set to open in August 2014.

Progress is visible from the outside and in. The walls are up; the roof is on; painting of classroom walls in the A wing has begun and installation of drywall in the B wing is expected to begin within the next two weeks.

The new addition is part of a $19 million construction project that includes renovation of the existing building.

Through value engineering, contractors continue to chip away at a project that is $249,291 over budget.

School district representative Dow Powell of Dow’s Custom Construction gave a recent example of savings.

“It could be as simple as going from cable trays to cable hooks [used to run cable wiring through the school]. We found $13,000 savings,” Powell said.

Loren Cantrell of Langlas & Associates said revised cost estimates will be made in January after structural drawings are completed for the D wing in the existing school building. Drawings were needed after changes were made in June.

Powell led a Dec. 17 tour of the school construction zone.

The first stop was through the completed gym, weight room, a training room and one of four locker rooms.

Inside the training room Whitefish High School Athletic Trainer Amanda Estepp was unpacking materials from a box. The new training room is significantly larger than where she was previously.

“We had three kids in the room and they were tripping over each other because it was so small. I can actually do some rehab in here,” an appreciative Estepp said.

In the new addition, construction crews worked under the din of power tools. One worker pushed a polishing machine across concrete floors in the foyer.

“It’s called retroplate — a special finish of the concrete. The concrete is ground and burnished,” Powell said. “He’ll go over it three or four times with a special compound and burnish it at the end to get the gloss. It’ll save long-term maintenance — no more waxing.”

A finished portion of flooring shows the end result, a marble-like sheen.

Upstairs in the west part of the A wing, some of the walls are painted different colors of green.

“We’re hoping for cabinetry in the A wing in late January,” Powell said.

Temporary light bulbs hang from the ceiling. They aren’t necessary during the day with the amount of light streaming into the hallway through windows that look into classrooms.

What may be a hallmark of the new addition are the views. Large picture windows frame a snowcapped Big Mountain.

Another set of stairs leads to a mechanical room where large, forced-air heating units have been installed throughout the expanse of the addition along with heat coils for energy efficiency.

Students have also taken an active role throughout the construction process — whether touring the construction site to learn about plumbing or documenting the process through social media in the school’s new social media marketing class. A shop class has made its mark on the project by constructing locker room benches using wood salvage from the school’s torn-down gym bleachers.

People interested in viewing the construction site are invited to attend a tour planned Jan. 10. People who plan to attend should notify the school office at 862-8600.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.