By MELINDA J. OVERSTREET
for Glasgow News 1
Demolition is expected to begin in earnest Monday of the existing buildings on the future site of a justice center for Barren County; meanwhile, coordination is ongoing among engineers and architects to incorporate changes to the design with regard to the type of foundation for the new structure.
The change to a deep foundation system rather than a more shallow spread foundation system that had been anticipated was determined to be necessary after preliminary core samples were examined, said Brian Estep, a member of the design team, at Wednesday’s regular meeting of the local project development board.
Information related to the findings has been forwarded to Alliance Corp., the company handling construction management for the project, so that cost estimates can be determined and the overall budget can be updated, Estep said.
Tommy Gumm, CEO of Alliance, said the details regarding foundation needs have been sent to a company that does foundation work for input to assist with drawing up those specialized cost figures. Additional samplings are to be taken after the demolition is complete, and that’s expected to take as long as a month, to make any final tweaks,, but the general design and budget can be under AOC review in the interim once he gets figures back on the foundation.
He said the demolition company is already onsite removing some interior items from the buildings, but the structural demolition is to begin Monday.
“I look forward to seeing that done,” Gumm said.
The current structures are a former Dollar General Store at 309 W. Main St. and the Glasgow Glass Co. building immediately behind it.
“That’s great news then, Tommy,” said Judge-Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd, who chairs the board.
Estep added that detailed drawings have been completed and sent to Alliance as well for a planned mock courtroom to be constructed, so a price can be calculated, he added. The mock courtroom would be done essentially with plywood, just so court personnel can check the general logistics and ergonomics of the setup.
Gumm said he’s working with a local millwork company to price it so they can see for sure whether it’s something they want to do; the board members had previously spoken favorably of having that step included.
Estep also noted that a meeting has been scheduled for next week with AOC court facilities representatives to discuss building envelope and HVAC matters.
Gumm also reported that even though the fencing is up around the construction site now and the appropriate streets have been closed, they’ve still had a little trouble with traffic control, so locked gates are necessary.
With Circuit Judge John T. Alexander absent due to his having a trial over which he had to preside, all other board members were either on Zoom or in person.
The next regular meeting of the PDB is scheduled for noon April 10 primarily via Zoom but may also be attended in person in Judge Alexander’s courtroom on Floor 2 of the Barren County Courthouse.
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