St. Clair County Courthouse project enters new phase on Monday. Here's what to know

Belleville News-Democrat | By Lexi Cortes

Published March 8, 2024 at 5:00 AM CST

A clock dedicated to Curt Weisenstein frames the St. Clair County Administration Building on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, in Belleville. Weisenstein was a man who disabled by a brain injury at birth and died at age 69 due to cancer. In life, he was familiar to the business owners in downtown Belleville, according to reports. He was known to help people set their watches and clocks, while keeping an eye on clocks in the businesses he visited daily. — A clock dedicated to Curt Weisenstein frames the St. Clair County Administration Building last May in Belleville.

Editor's note: This story was originally published in the Belleville News-Democrat.

Starting Monday, visitors can expect changes at the St. Clair County Courthouse in Belleville as construction crews begin to demolish the exterior steps at the southwest entrance.

The courthouse will remain open to the public, but the southwest entrance and the pedestrian crosswalk tunnel between the South First Street public parking garage and courthouse will be temporarily closed.

Signage will direct visitors to walk down West Washington and South Illinois streets from the parking garage to the building’s main entrance across from the fountain on Public Square.

Anyone who needs assistance getting to the main entrance while the tunnel is shut down can request it from the parking garage attendant on the yellow level at the corner of First and Washington streets, according to a construction notice from the county.

The county’s Public Building Commission purchased two golf carts for about $30,000 to transport people who need help.

The Public Building Commission is a board that manages all county buildings and properties, including the courthouse, Belle-Clair Fairgrounds and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport.

The county is demolishing the courthouse’s exterior steps to provide street-level entry on the southwest side of the building, which means it will become accessible to people who can’t climb the stairs.

The construction project also includes plans to expand the entry lobby and improve the security checkpoint there before people can enter the building’s offices or courtrooms.

This satellite image of the St. Clair County Courthouse in downtown Belleville shows planned building access restrictions as part of a construction project. Orange areas depict construction activities. The blue line shows the path visitors will be directed to travel during shutdowns of the tunnel between the South First Street public parking garage and courthouse.

What's next in the courthouse project?

Renovations are expected to continue at the southwest entrance until spring 2025, which will intermittently affect road and building access.

To help visitors plan their travel downtown and to the courthouse during construction, the county is providing updates on lane restrictions, parking and building access at its website, co.st-clair.il.us.

A temporary connector will be installed from the parking garage so that the tunnel isn’t closed for the entire year the project is expected to take to complete, according to Scott Manning, the director of construction operations for the company Impact Strategies, which is managing the project.

County officials also want to renovate the main entrance to the courthouse after the southwest entrance renovation is finished. They anticipate that work could take until fall 2025.

The work is part of an estimated $14 million in total construction at the courthouse, which includes completed upgrades to prisoner holding cells, freight elevators and new, energy-efficient windows.

More than half of the cost, $9.3 million, is covered by federal COVID-19 relief dollars from the American Rescue Plan. The remaining $4.7 million will come out of Public Building Commission funds.

Lexi Cortes is a reporter with the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.