MANKATO — The first of two construction packages for Blue Earth County’s estimated $38 million justice center — for site work and the pre-cast, concrete “shell” — will be published Monday.
The overall project is easily the county’s largest capital expense ever, but County Administrator Dennis McCoy said he couldn’t peg the cost of the first package because the county’s cost estimates don’t line up with the bid package.
About 60 percent of the building’s exterior calls for large concrete panels that are molded in a factory and brought to the site by semi. They’re molded and colored to resemble Kasota stone and red brick, a signature look in the river valley.
It looks real from far away, but the illusion fails closer up. Authentic stone and brick will be used for the front entrance most visible to visitors.
Spencer Kubat is the sales manager for Wells Concrete, which has been assisting the building’s designer, Paulsen Architects, on concrete issues. The company plans to make a bid for that portion of the project.
He describes the panels’ construction this way: Wooden molds, as much as 200 feet long, are layered with a rubber mold to create the desired illusion. Concrete, in this case colored, is poured in the mold and separated into four or five pieces. The slabs, which weigh up to 35,000 pounds, are tipped up on site with a crane.
“It’s gaining more popularity as far as the material of choice,” Kubat said about the pre-cast panels, which his company used to build Midwest Wireless’ corporate headquarters.
Benefits include fewer mold issues associated with more cavernous walls and the stability and predictability of factory-controlled conditions.
McCoy said he doesn’t know if one company will do all the work specified in the initial bid package or if it will be divided up into smaller units.
Josh Williams, a project manager at Web Construction, suspects that a bid package of this size, demanding more than one specialty, will draw multiple types of companies.
CAM, a Brainerd, Minn.-based construction management firm, will oversee the builders and verify that the work has been done.
Construction on the justice center begins this spring, with an expected open date in late 2008 or early the next year.
Local News
Plans for new justice center to be released
- Local News
-
-
MSU's Olson selected for president at Winona State
Scott Olson will start on July 1
-
Front and Cherry intersection likely won't be done by the weekend
It’s unlikely that work will be completed by this weekend.
-
Mankato schools consider boundary changes, new buildings
The Mankato Public Schools Board will hear proposals at its meeting Monday
-
Pregnancy prevention efforts appear to be paying off
The group, called Sexually Responsible And Mature Teens, is one of many projects across the state, including in Mankato, that are engaging teens in pregnancy prevention efforts.
-
DFL looks to retake majority
House minority leader, local DFL lawmakers offer their view of session, outlook for fall elections. -
Deputies say drowning victim had no life jacket, possibly drinking
Possible alcohol use and the fact the victim wasn’t wearing a life jacket are prompting water safety warnings from the Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Department with summer approaching.
-
Hwy 14 ramp closed temporarily
The eastbound Highway 14 ramp to Riverfront Drive in Mankato closed at noon
today.
-
Vikings training camp starts July 26 in Mankato
Team will be in Mankato for three full weeks from July 26 to Aug. 16
-
Students get lesson in Dakota culture
About 70 students sitting in Reconciliation Park Tuesday morning listened as Dave Larsen taught them some Dakota words, explained each piece as he put on a powwow outfit and told them a bit about the effort by Indians to regain their culture after a century of attempts to crush their language and history.
-
Mankato woman, 21, drowns in Blue Earth River
A Mankato woman, 21-year-old Jenny Mae Kraling, was pulled from the Blue Earth River Tuesday, drowned while tubing.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Defense Rests in John Edwards Trial
GM Says It Will Stop Paying for Ads on Facebook
911 Call: Confusion at Home Where Mom Shot Kids
Jury Convicts Steve Powell of Voyeurism Charges
Skechers to Pay $40 Million for Bogus Claims
Coffee May Be Key to Living Longer
Police to Groom of Slain Bride: Turn Yourself In
Laurie Fine: My Life Has Been Destroyed
FTC: Skechers Deceived Consumers With Shoe Ads
FBI Confirms Leak Probe on Al-Qaida Plot
Romney Calls Obama a 'Disappointment'
Honda Unveils New Robotics-powered Scooter
NJ Gov., Mayor Channel Seinfeld in Video Parody
Blood Drive for Woman With Flesh-Eating Disease
AG Race Tops Oregon Primary Interest
Obama Welcomes Beckham, Galaxy to White House
Raw Video: Mladic's Genocide Trial Under Way
Court Records Detail Zimmerman Injuries
Local Community Prepares for G8 Summit
New Guidelines for US Nuclear Plants
