A major Palmerton Area School District construction project could finish its underground work this week and remains on schedule, the board was told Tuesday night.

The $14.9 million project includes a two-story addition to the high school on the east side with a secured main entrance, five classrooms and renovated administrative offices, plus a new 11,000-square-foot district administration building on the west side. The board awarded more than $12.9 million in prime contracts in April. Completion is targeted for fall 2027.

Crews have drilled 17 of the 22 caisson holes on the west side of the site and filled them with concrete, district facilities director Trahn Thompson said during the board’s workshop. The rest will be done within days.

“By Thursday, they’ll be all completed, and at that point, we’ll be out of the ground technically,” Thompson said. “We remain on time, and everybody’s anticipating pouring pads and getting out of the mud.”

Everything below ground has been the project’s trouble spot. Unforeseen stormwater pipes, undocumented utilities and a buried line that had gone unmapped for decades drove roughly $175,000 in change orders between August and September, half of the project’s $350,000 contingency fund.

Work on the east side is moving to the next phase. Masons will begin building stem walls, Thompson said.

Plumbers will follow with rough-in work before a concrete pad is poured.

One change is already affecting daily traffic at the school.

At the contractor’s request, the construction fence on the east side was expanded, which shifted the student pickup and drop-off route.

“It did alter our pickup and drop-off route, but we felt as a team it’s the safest way,” Thompson said. “This way, they bring their equipment, get it within the fence, and it stops them from coming out of the fenced area during the day.