While the recent rainfall has been welcomed by most in Morgan County, it has hindered construction on the new Hartselle High School.

School Superintendent Mike Reed said contractors are ready to lay the foundation on the school building, but the nearly 2.5 inches of rain received in the eight days has prevented any further work from proceeding.

“The site work is 98 percent complete, if not 100 percent,” Reed said. “They’re ready to lay the footings for the building, but the ground is just too wet right now. They’re going to have to let the ground dry out for a few days before they can put the footings in the ground. It all starts with the foundation and they want to make sure it’s done right.”

Reed said that once the footings are in place, the building would begin to take shape quickly.

“It’s just a little unfortunate with the timing of the rain,” Reed said. “We’ve had dry weather for several weeks, but we weren’t ready to lay the footings then.”

The architect and other contractors for the school will give a full report to the Hartselle Board of Education at its meeting on Monday at 6 p.m. on the school building’s status.

Reed did say, however, that the $40 million project is staying within budget.

“We’re actually a little bit below our budget,” Reed said. “That’s the way I like it to be.”

The school board still has to award bids for kitchen equipment, landscaping and electrical equipment.