Tulsa County Courthouse renovations set to begin Monday
BY KEVIN CANFIELD World Staff Writer
Sunday, May 20, 2012
5/20/12 at 6:48 AM
Construction crews are set to begin work Monday on renovations to the Tulsa County Courthouse.
The first phase of the project will be to open and enhance the entrance of the building on Denver Avenue.
Once that is done, the south entrance along Sixth Street will be turned into an emergency-only exit. Workers will then begin enclosing the north entrance on Civic Center Plaza.
The project is expected to take a year to complete.
The courthouse facility, at 500 S. Denver Ave., includes two connected structures - the Ray Jordan Tulsa County Administration Building on the south end and the courthouse on the north end.
County officials say the changes will enhance security, improve the flow of people through the building and ensure that the structure complies with the federal requirement to provide universally accessible exits.
Opening the Denver Avenue entrance, with easy access to escalators, will improve the flow of people inside the courthouse, especially when the jury room is moved out of the basement, county officials say.
Currently, court personnel and families going upstairs to courtrooms have to vie for space on elevators with jurors who are going down.
Visitors to the courthouse also can expect to see changes to the interior of the building.
The Information and Security Office, now just inside the plaza entrance, will be moved down the hall to the center of the corridor near the escalators, providing personnel with a clear view of all three entrances and exits.
The $1,151,232 project is being paid for with 4 to Fix 2 funds that were approved by voters for courthouse improvements. The contractor is Magnum Construction.
Work had been scheduled to begin earlier this year but was delayed after a March 7 shooting on the plaza north of the courthouse. In response to the incident, county officials changed the design of the east and north entrances to make them more secure.
"The two major differences on the east entrance are the addition of a concrete wall and the laminated glass," said Michael Willis, the county's public information officer. "At the north entrance, the entire expansion was going to be glassed in. Now, there has been a brick structure integrated in with the glass."
Willis said laminating the glass won't make it stronger or more resistant to damage but will keep shards of glass from spraying all over should the glass be broken.
"A lot of damage done to people comes from actual flying glass," Willis said. "And this will keep that to a minimum."
Willis said pedestrians should be aware that fencing has been erected along Denver Avenue in preparation of construction.
Original Print Headline: Work to begin on Tulsa County Courthouse
Kevin Canfield 918-581-8313
kevin.canfield@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Renderings are seen of the east entrace and north entrance of the Tulsa County Courthouse. The first phase of the project will be to open and enhance the entrance of the building on Denver Avenue. Once that is complete, the south entrance along Sixth Street will be turned into an emergency-only exit. Courtesy
Renderings are seen of the east entrace and north entrance of the Tulsa County Courthouse. The first phase of the project will be to open and enhance the entrance of the building on Denver Avenue. Once that is complete, the south entrance along Sixth Street will be turned into an emergency-only exit. Courtesy
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