The walls are finally going up on Straughn Elementary School’s new classroom addition.

Covington County Schools’ Superintendent Shannon Driver said Friday that contractors had completed the slab.

“They should be going up with some walls (Friday),” he said.

Driver said the recent rains have somewhat stalled work on the building.

“We’ve kind of been hampered by rain,” he said. “We should be able to start seeing some very visible progress. The vertical walls should start going up.”

Driver said despite the rain, the contractor said they are still on target for completion by mid-summer.

“I think we should be able to get on target now,” he said. “I hope we get good weather. I know there will be rain and some lost days with spring.”

The building will be an early learning center.

In September 2016, the board awarded a low bid to Diversified General Contractors, who bid around $1.8 million, but they were able to get the cost down to approximately $1.7 million.

The new building will house pre-K and kindergarten, with eight classrooms on the back side of the elementary school.

The building will also serve as a FEMA storm shelter.

The entire building will have 12-inch thick walls and will be able to house 1,000 in the event of a tornado.