DENVER, CO Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) announces that its work on the Lake County High School Addition and Renovations in Leadville, Colorado, has earned the company a National Excellence in Construction Eagle Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) in the Institutional $10 million to $25 million project category. Representatives from the company received the award March 2 during ABC's 26th annual Excellence in Construction Awards celebration in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

"Associated Builders and Contractors is honored to recognize Adolfson & Peterson Construction with a well-deserved Excellence in Construction Eagle Award for their commitment to high quality construction, innovation and safety in their work on Lake County High School," said 2016 ABC National Chair David Chapin, President of Willmar Electric Service, Lincoln, Nebraska. "AP's performance is a great example of the impressive work Associated Builders and Contractors' member companies produce and we are happy to claim this project for the merit shop construction industry."

The renovations and addition to Lake County High School created a high-performing, 21st-century learning environment for students while reflecting Leadville's natural environment and history. The school is now outfitted with new technology, security camera system, 65-inch LCD screens in each classroom, and new furniture.

At an elevation of 10,152 feet, Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States. With an average of 278 days annually with freezing temperatures, extensive planning was taken by the project team for the harsh conditions. The project was completed during a winter with so much snow the school district canceled school for a snow day for the second time in 100 years.

Working on a fully occupied campus also located across from the hospital required coordinating steel erection with emergency helicopter flights. The school was open for both the 2013-2014 school years and 2014-2015 school years.

The project encompassed three separate additions that nearly doubled the size of the school. A new high school classroom 50,000-square-foot addition - a double-stacked wing - includes up-to-date science labs and wireless connection throughout. Two small additions to an administrative area and around a stairway completed the 114,000 total square footage of the new school.

The Excellence in Construction Awards program is the industry's leading competition, developed to honor innovative and high-quality merit shop construction projects with eagle awards presented to the top project in each category. The award honors all construction team members, including the contractor, owner, architect and engineer. The winning projects, selected from entries from across the nation, were judged on complexity, attractiveness, unique challenges overcome, completion time, workmanship, innovation, safety and cost.

A panel of industry experts served as the competition's judges. This year's panel included representatives from the Design-Build Institute of America, Engineering News-Record, the Construction Users Roundtable, and the National Association of Women in Construction, and representatives from higher education, among others.