A Behind the Scenes Look at the Capitol Square Project [GALLERY]
What's the key to renovating Wyoming's 125-year-old capitol building? If George Harrison were still alive, he'd likely say, "Plenty of money, patience and time to do it right child."
"We've had a little delay along the way," said Senator Tony Ross, Co-Chairman of the Capitol Building Rehabilitation and Restoration Oversight Group. "But the key to it is doing it right and we are doing it right."
Officials broke ground on the construction phase of the Capitol Square Project last month, something Ross says is significant.
"What we had done over that last year, with the assistance of MOCA, is found out what this building is really all about," said Ross. "Now we're going to begin the whole construction phase and I believe that it's going to be on time and on budget."
The $219 million project centers on the rehabilitation and restoration of the capitol, the remodel and expansion of the adjacent Herschler Building, the remodel and expansion of the tunnel that connects the buildings and the replacement of the central utility plant.
"There are a number of factors that go into this," said Ross. "Ultimately this is about the people (and) their ability to communicate with their government."
"This isn't just about beautification," added Ross. "This is about a need to restore critical infrastructure in this building."
Ross says new mechanical systems and technology will allow construction crews to raise ceiling heights and restore the capitol to its original grandeur.
"This is the most important building in the state of Wyoming," said Ross. "When people see this building and what we've done in 2019 they're going to go wow, that is really cool, you guys really did some amazing things."
Construction on the project is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2019.
"There's naysayers to the project," said Ross. "But we have the money, it's time to get it done and, as you can tell, we're not going back."