Beltrami County jail project: footings poured, precast walls due this month

Beltrami County’s jail construction advanced this month, county officials said, with concrete pours complete for footings and piers and foundation work preparing for the arrival of precast walls.

County administrator Tom Zemmer told the board the site’s concrete footings and piers are poured in the central and eastern parts of the building and foundation walls are being readied to receive precast wall panels later this month. Crews are also backfilling the north-northeast section of the building after pours cured.

Zemmer said storm damage to the site was minimal because much of the work remained at or below grade. "So, as far as storm damage goes to the actual site itself, the site, fortunately, you know, came out pretty unscathed," Zemmer said. He noted the job-site trailer had been shifted and the trailer skirting removed; a neighbor’s trampoline had landed in the excavation and was removed as well.

Zemmer said the county carries insurance through the contractor for construction risks, and he cautioned that had the storm struck after precast walls were in place the impacts could have been far worse. He said concrete and foundation work continue and that the site will look different once precast walls are delivered and installed later in the month.