by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Portions of Clay and Monroe streets could be closed by the end of the year, making way for the new $211 million Duval County Courthouse complex.
According to project manager Chris Boruch, Clay and Pearl streets will be closed from Duval Street to West Adams Street, while Monroe Street will be closed from Broad Street to Julia Street.
“The courthouse is actually situated on Monroe and the rotunda sits on top of the intersection of Clay and Monroe,” said Boruch, talking about the design of the six-block complex created by architect Cannon Design.
Considering the courthouse is a Better Jacksonville Plan project, it would seem fairly easy to close a few blocks of three streets. That’s hardly the case. In addition to conducting an extensive study that looked into how traffic in that area of downtown would be permanently rerouted, several different City entities and private companies are involved in the process.
The City’s Public Works Department and JEA are involved; both have underground infrastructure that has to be relocated. Others, like Teco Peoples Gas and BellSouth, have been asked to cooperate by relocating their underground wiring and utility lines. After an initial dispute with BellSouth a couple of months ago, it appears everyone is working together to make the closings as easy as possible.
“The engineers have talked to all of the utilities involved,” said Pat Brown of the City’s real estate division, explaining the process is now in the hands of the mayor’s Budget Review Committee. “After that, we will request legislation and then send it to City Council.”
The new courthouse will be almost one million square feet and it will incorporate the old federal courthouse, which will house the State Attorney’s and Public Defender’s offices. There will also be a new law library, basement parking for judges and an expanded holding facility for Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office prisoners. The Clerk of the Courts will also be in the new courthouse.
Boruch said the traffic issues have been studied by a consultant, King Robinson, who will make their recommendation through a downtown mobility study, which is currently being compiled. Nothing, said Boruch, is new at this point.
“We had our first meeting on this in April 2002. We have been working closely with all the fiber optic companies and JEA. Their technology folks have been working with the courthouse designer,” said Boruch. “We can move the infrastructure without permanently closing the streets. We are shooting for the end of this year. Council has to pass an ordinance.”
According to Boruch, it’s imperative to close the streets and move the existing infrastructure. A project the size of the courthouse will require a great deal of underground work.
“To build a courthouse, you have to start 20 feet below the surface of the ground and build up,” said Boruch. “After that, you lay the foundation. After that, you do the steel and after that the roof.”
He also said no one expects any archeological or geological surprises.
“We’ve done environmental analysis and dug wells and we haven’t found anything,” said Boruch. “If we find anything of archeological nature, by law we have to cease work and investigate. All our analysis and field work doesn’t indicate we’ll find anything, but we might have missed something.”