With temperatures rising, the air conditioning situation at the Butler County Courthouse has become a hot topic.

Blistering temperatures are just around the corner and those who work in the courthouse are hoping for a relief before the summer months hit.

When the renovations began the target date for completion had been May 15.

Now, it looks as if relief will come sooner.

&uot;We seem to be ahead of schedule right now,&uot; said Pearce Trawick Service Contractors project coordinator Pete Touchtone. &uot;We hope that we can stay on the track we’re on now.&uot;

Touchtone said that things have gone smoothly up to this point.

&uot;We are about 65 percent done,&uot; said Touchtone. &uot;The weather has been very cooperative and we hope that that continues.&uot;

In recent weeks the workers have been able to make a great deal of progress. Earlier this week the actual units were moved in and soon enough they will be functional.

&uot;We’re hooking up the power to them today,&uot; said Touchtone. &uot;When we get all that hooked up we will be in business.&uot;

Once the units have power venting will be the next thing on their list.

&uot;Our next big project will be cutting holes in the roof and floors,&uot; said Touchtone. &uot;We will be getting close to done at that point.&uot;

Many courthouse employees feared that they would catch the worst of Alabama’s two weather extremes.

After toughing out the freezing temperatures of winter the courthouse workers were praying for relief before the hot summer months arrived.

However, as many problems as the weather had caused in making people uncomfortable, it has caused very few problems with the actual construction.

&uot;The weather has been extremely cooperative,&uot; said Touchtone. &uot;We have most of the weather conditions that could give us trouble out of the way.&uot;

The courthouse construction seems to heading into the homestretch. If things continue to progress as they have the courthouse workers may be feeling the relief from the elements sooner than expected.