AUGUSTA — Construction and repairs to the State House should be completed in the next few months, a state official said Tuesday.
The remaining work includes replacing the rubber roof on the south side of the building, repairing decorative ledges and fixing water and other damage to the House chamber.
Grant Pennoyer, executive director of the Legislative Council, said the total cost for the remaining work is about $677,000. Replacing the rubber roof will cost around $560,000, he said.
“This was a long-planned project to replace the existing rubber roof, which is about 20 years old, and the ledges near the House chamber,” Pennoyer said. “After the dome was done, this was next.”
A $1.3 million restoration of the building’s dome was completed in November 2014. The copper dome was installed originally during a renovation of the State House more than 100 years ago.
Pennoyer said staging materials on the roof during the dome project “took its toll,” and over the years, “there was a lot of patching done to the old roof.” He said the dome project probably accelerated the need to replace the State House roof, though it was due to be replaced.
The roof is a synthetic rubber roofing membrane. Pennoyer said typical roofs of this kind have a lifespan of around 20 years, but they decided to make the roof a little thicker in hopes of reaching 30 years before its next replacement.
The north wing over the House chamber, Pennoyer said, is almost finished, and workers used a smaller crane than the one on site for the current project. To move materials using the smaller crane, “it would’ve been a blind drop,” so the subcontractor decided it would be better to use a larger crane.
“It’s a little more expensive, but it’ll create fewer headaches for the subcontractor,” Pennoyer said. Hahnel Bros Co., of Lewiston and Bangor, is working on the project, and Consigli Construction Co. is the project manager.
The House chamber sustained water damage over the years, so the carpets have been torn out and will be replaced for about $30,000, Pennoyer said. New networking wire will replace unused wire underneath the carpet, and the additional repairs inside the chamber will cost an estimated $87,000. Pennoyer expects the House chamber to be repaired completely by the end of September; the House doesn’t meet again until early December.
The copper dome project began in March 2014 and was completed that November. The dome was added when the State House was expanded in 1909-10 to accommodate larger House and Senate chambers. The removed copper was made available to the public last year, and some of it was used for art.
Replacing the sidewalk in front of the State House on State Street is the last big project of the year, Pennoyer said, because “the sidewalks are in bad shape.” The sidewalks on Capitol Street between the State House and Blaine House were replaced a few years ago.
That project, which will cost about $60,000, is expected to begin at the end of August and to be completed by mid-September.
Jason Pafundi — 621-5663
Twitter: @jasonpafundiKJ
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