Director of the Department of Planning and Development for Eau Claire County Mel Erickson says the first phase involved some utility work near the Second Avenue entrance to the courthouse, along with demolition and construction of Second Avenue from the law enforcement parking garage to the new entrance to the county parking lot.  The second phase will involve demolition and construction of First Avenue from the entrance of the jail parking lot to the intersection of First Avenue and Lake Street.  Erickson says all utilities will be replaced and the recreation trail will be widened.  Rip-rapping will also be done on the Chippewa River bank for reconstruction of the trail.  He says this phase should be completed at the end of August.

 

As for the courthouse building itself, Erickson says, next week demolition will begin on the ground and first floors of the courthouse addition that includes the Register of Deeds office, Sheriff's Department administration office, and Detectives office.  He says new offices and a conference room in the new jail will be used until a new space in the courthouse is ready for those offices in September of 2013.   

 

 

 For more pictures on the project see our Facebook page here.

Right now, we're looking for a few performers/groups that'd like to show their stuff on the main stage!  If you know of a group that would like entertain the crowd for a half-an-hour and get their name out there, let us know!