Officials break ground for
new courthouse
By KAYLEE HARTUNG
|
| Mayor John Knapp and County Supervisor Chairman Harvey Hotinger dig in at the groundbreaking beneath the Nelson St. bridge. |
After years of heated
debate,
protests,
and court hearings, city and county officials broke ground for the
new Rockbridge County Courthouse Thursday.
"It's hard to believe we're actually starting," said Chairman of the
County Board of Supervisors Harvey Hotinger. "And now that we've got
this far it'll go up in a hurry, hopefully."
Hotinger said he expects the contractor, Branch and Associates, to begin
tearing down buildings along Randolph and Nelson Streets in two weeks.
County Engineer Tom Higgins said the next step in building the 64,000-square-foot facility is out of the city's and
county's hands.
"We met our court-ordered mandate to initiate the contract," said
Higgins. "And the contract includes the court-ordered finish date. So
now it's up to the contractor. The contractor could come in tomorrow, he
could've come in last week, he could come in six weeks from now. But he's
got to make that finish date."
The Roanoke contractor has two years to build the courthouse and its
144-space parking deck at the corner of Randolph and Nelson streets.
Lexington courthouse drama resolved
Jan. 19, 2007
Produced by Washington and Lee journalism students.
Lead supervisor: Prof. Claudette Artwick
Reporting supervisors:
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd