Westmoreland Courthouse construction project on pace for October completion

Demolition work to expose and remove the underground parking structure at the Westmoreland County Courthouse will continue through July, officials said on Wednesday.

Public Works Director Greg McCloskey said the $7 million project to rebuild the two-level dilapidated garage remains on schedule and is on pace for completion in October.

County officials earlier this spring said engineering studies revealed the parking structure under the courthouse’s courtyard was in a potentially dangerous state of disrepair and emergency repairs were needed.

Work started in April and over the last two months crews removed grass, trees, concrete planters and benches from the courtyard in front of the courthouse complex in preparation for the demolition.

Fencing and concrete barriers were installed along Main and Otterman streets as excavation work started in May. Workers are in the process of digging down about 35 feet under the courtyard to expose the parking structure. McCloskey said the existing support beams and concrete slabs of the garage will be removed. The structure will be rebuilt and the courtyard reconstructed this fall.

Final plans for the rebuilt courtyard will be unveiled later this summer.

The project so far has gone as planned.

“There was nothing they didn’t expect,” McCloskey said.

Much of the work is being conducted in the afternoon and early evenings in an effort to reduce noise levels during business hours.

Meanwhile, county commissioners are expected on Thursday to approved revised contracts to rent fewer parking spots throughout Greensburg for employees who parked in the courthouse garage but were displaced by the construction project.

The county initially paid about $10,000 in April and May to rent more than 180 parking spots in city garages and one privately-owned lot. Officials said Wednesday that fewer spots are needed. Under the revised contracts the county will save about $2,200 a month by renting nearly 50 fewer parking spots.

County commissioners, judges and other elected officials continue to park in a small section of the courthouse garage not impacted by the construction.