By Lori EhdeSince the walls went up at the new Sioux Valley hospital and clinic campus last fall, passing motorists haven’t seen much construction activity on the site.But inside the walls, the building has been humming with construction activity.Steve Nothdurft is superintendent for general contractor Henry Carlson Company, Sioux Falls.He’s been leading tours for groups of hospital employees in the past week as the interior rooms are taking shape.For example:oAdministrative offices are all carpeted and the clinic carpeting is nearly complete.oKitchen equipment is installed.oCeiling grid is installed in the south half of the hospital and ceiling tiles are going in.oSheetrock is up in most of the building.oCabinets are installed in about 60 percent of the building — in business offices, clinic, surgery, rehab and administration.oPainting will start soon, starting in the OB and nursery areas of the hospital.oPermanent heat and air handling system will be activated in half the building next week."We’re cruising right along," Nothdurft said.He said he’ll be ready to turn over the building to Sioux Valley on June 8, but that won’t officially happen until July 8, because of water and street access issues.He said the new water tower is scheduled to be painted and filled by June 1, and that will allow the building’s sprinkler system to be operable.Another issue that may affect the move-in date is road work on the intersection of Highway 75 and 131st Street on the north side of the hospital.Nothdurft said the hospital needs to have two entrances accessible in order to be open. That roadwork is scheduled for completion by July 15.Meanwhile, hospital physicians and staff are eager to move in.Lois Hamilton, director of nursing, said touring the facility makes it hard to wait for move-in day."We are so cramped where we are now," she said last week. "It’ll be so nice for the patients and employees to be in the new facility."Registered Nurse Mary O’Toole Hemme is director of surgery for the hospital, and she especially enjoyed touring what will be the new operating rooms."I was impressed," she said. "There will be so much more room, more space. We’re so cramped where we are now."She said patients have received good care in the current facility, but technology has played a role in the need for more space."We have new equipment now, too, and that takes up space," she said. "It will be a lot more efficient flow for patients and staff."At groundbreaking, the hospital work was estimated to last until late 2005, but with a mild winter and very few glitches, that date was moved to summer 2005. The $17.8 million complex going up north of the Veterans Addition will have more than 93,000 square feet of space, more than doubling the space of the current landlocked hospital and clinic.