You’ll soon notice multiple cranes, scaffolding equipment and dump trucks around the 238-foot Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City.
This is a Capitol restoration rendering provided to the Capitol Press Corps by the Missouri Office of Administration (OA)
A $28.6 million Capitol construction project begins on Friday.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, says the exterior facade of the Capitol has suffered significant deterioration. Kehoe says the public will see that the state will take care of what he calls the “people’s building.”
“And it’s our responsibility, it’s our generation’s time to make sure this is here for future generations and like we said, it’s going to be a little bit painful, but at the end the product will be fantastic,” Kehoe says.
The Office of Administration (OA) says the project will address the deteriorating stonework on the Capitol’s facades, dome and drum, which dates to 1917.
The project is expected to be completed in December 2020.
OA has awarded the $28 million contract to Chicago-based Bulley and Andrews Masonry Restoration for a massive construction project.
They will have about 25 Missouri subcontractors, primarily from the mid-Missouri region. There will be about 50-75 construction workers on the project.
State Rep. Travis Fitzwater, R-Holts Summit, describes the Capitol as a historical building where the people’s work is being done.
“And I think it’s important that we ensure that for another couple generations that they can come to this building and see the incredible beauty that’s been built here and the vision from 100 years ago when it was first created,” says Fitzwater.
OA says the project will bring the Capitol building’s structure back to serviceable condition, after more than 100 years of wear and tear.
The sidewalk on the north side approach to the Capitol will also be replaced.
State Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, tells Missourinet the massive project has been a team effort. Rowden chairs the Senate Government Reform Committee.
“It’s incredibly important and it’s important not just for the people in Jefferson City, but for the people in Columbia and for the people in Boone and Cooper Counties that I represent and people all across the state,” Rowden says.
OA says 400-thousand to 500-thousand people visit the Missouri Capitol annually, with some being repeat visitors.
Representative Fitzwater notes people visit the Capitol from across the country and around the world.
OA says Jefferson City-area residents will see heavy equipment being hauled in overnight Thursday into Friday morning outside the Missouri Capitol building.
The Capitol’s south lawn will be converted into a construction staging area, and the south circle drive will be closed to public traffic from Friday (March 2) until December 2020.
Funding is coming from a $40 million bond package approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature and then-Governor Jay Nixon (D) in 2014.
Click here to listen to Missourinet news director Brian Hauswirth’s full interview with Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe, State Rep. Travis Fitzwater and State Sen. Caleb Rowden, which was recorded on February 22, 2018 at the Statehouse in Jefferson City:
