Bill Walter offers updates on the Logan County Courthouse project

 

[July 04, 2024] 

On Thursday, July 4th, the crane arrived in Lincoln that would be removing the large I-beams and other scaffolding from the Logan County Courthouse.

It has been quite a while coming because in order for the I-beams to be safely removed, the weather conditions must be ideal. This week at the monthly meeting of the Logan County Board Building and Grounds Committee, project manager Bill Walter told the committee that fingers were crossed that after a number of delays this weekend would be successful. He said the board had approved the work to be done starting on the fourth of July and running through the weekend.

At the Tuesday evening meeting, he said that the weather predictions were not favorable for Thursday morning but was hoping that the weather would clear and the rest of the weekend would be good for the extraction project.

After the rain showers on Thursday morning, the crane was placed and work began.

Walter said that while the crane is in place, the bell that has been atop the courthouse on the flat roof would be returned. The bell had been taken away and placed in storage during the reconstruction of the courthouse dome and the application of the new roof.

Walter was asked if the scaffolding tower would be left on the exterior of the courthouse so workers could get up there to do work on the clocks and the bell. Walter said no, it will all come down. He said the bell could be accessed from the hatch and the clocks could be accessed also from the interior of the courthouse.

Walters was also asked about the holes that would be in the dome after the removal of the I-beams. He said those holes will be closed right away.

In other news related to the dome, he said that the person storing the stained-glass panels would like to now bring them back to the courthouse. The dome is not ready yet for the reinstallation of the stained glass, but the panels which are crated could be stored in the attic of the courthouse. There was some concern over the safety of the glass pieces in the dome while construction is still ongoing. Walter said that the work is far enough along, that the crated glass would not be in danger. He added, “If something falls on a crate that is large enough to break that glass, then we have a bigger problem than broken glass.”

In another update, the third floor of the courthouse is for the most part finished, and crews are ready to work full time on the second floor. Walter said that the restoration of the tile floors is not done, but won’t be even started until all other construction that involves heavy materials and tools is finished.

He said that the new wall that allows private passage from the third-floor courtroom jury box into the deliberation room looks good, and even Judge Jonathan Wright had said the wall looks like it has always been there.

Walters added that Judge Wright was very well pleased with the work in the courtroom, which among other things included moving the jury box to the opposite side of the room from where it has always been.

Logan County Board Chairman Emily Davenport said that the first floor Logan County Board office has been occupied by Lisa Bobb, whose original office was on the third floor, for quite some time. She asked if there was any chance that Bobb could be moving back to the third floor and the board could get their office back. Walter said yes, that was in the plan.

The crane could be in Lincoln through the weekend. Walters said that the crew will work even through Sunday if needed, though he is hopeful that they will get done before that.

It should be noted that the courthouse dome and roof have been finished for a while. The scaffolding was leased from American Scaffolding Company and the rent payments stopped when the county advised the company they were finished. American Scaffolding scheduled a date a few months ago to come take down the scaffolding, but weather prevented the event.

Also, the county did purchase the I-Beams, but is selling them back to the company they bought them from.

[Nila Smith]