Northampton Borough Council was informed at its Aug. 21 meeting the $84.7 million new middle school under construction on the Northampton Area School District campus is expected to cost less than projected.

The school will open on time for the 2015-16 school year.

There is a historical connection between the three-story 21st-century school going up and the former Atlas Cement Company.

NASD Superintendent Joseph Kovalchik in a PowerPoint presentation showed pictures of the former cement plant on which the new middle school is being erected. Foundations from the plant remain on the site.

Councilman Ed Pany, historian and curator of the Atlas Cement Memorial Museum, said the historical aspect of the project is important. He said the site for the school is where Plant 4 stood. It was the largest of the Atlas holdings and the location where the cement was manufactured for the Panama Canal.

Kovalchik said the district is thankful for the borough's 2.5-acre donation of land for the project, which includes a new and wider Stadium Drive.

Recognizing the borough's concerns involving traffic and congestion on Laubach Avenue, Kovalchik said school buses will enter the campus off Route 329 and Horwith Drive and then proceed onto school property.

The three-story school, housing seventh- and eighth-grade students, is 272,000 square feet and includes larger classrooms and offices with windows.

Kovalchik said the classroom walls are being built with block, not drywall.

Some residents complained the exterior walls will be painted yellow. Kovalchik said the exterior will have earth tones such as tans and browns.

Kovalchik stressed repeatedly the need for having the community involved.

"We will be under budget," Kovalchik said.

The project involves a swimming pool, additional athletic field, upgrades to the present stadium and a security system.