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Brazos County building $35 million medical examiner's office; director to begin behind-the-scenes work in Feb. 2026
Summary
Brazos County is constructing a roughly 21,000-square-foot medical examiner's office in Bryan funded in part by the American Rescue Plan Act; the facility includes two autopsy suites, training space and an observation room, and Doctor Dirickson will begin preparatory duties in February 2026.
Brazos County is building a roughly 21,000-square-foot medical examiner's office on East 29th Street in Bryan, a $35,000,000 project that officials say is partially funded by the American Rescue Plan Act and county funds. An unidentified speaker in the transcript said officials broke ground in December 2024 and that "by December 2025, you can already see interior rooms taking shape."
The county plans to outfit the facility with two autopsy suites, two cold rooms, office and training space, and an observation room intended to allow viewing from outside an autopsy suite for educational purposes. "There's an observation room for viewing outside of 1 of the autopsy suites, providing space for educational opportunities," the transcript records.
Officials described the building as both an operational asset and a training hub. An unidentified speaker said Texas A and M Medical School "is highly interested in having a educational program operating here," and the county plans space for a future fellowship program and training for forensic investigators, photographers and related fields.
The project cost is described in the transcript as $35,000,000. "The $35,000,000 facility is partially funded by the American Rescue Plan Act with additional funds coming from the county," an unidentified speaker said. The transcript does not specify the precise share of ARPA funds or the county's contribution breakdown.
County officials framed the office as a long-standing priority. "It's a project that's been discussed for more than a decade and 1 that officials believe will help bring peace of mind to local families," the transcript states. The county expects the office to handle mostly nonnatural deaths; an unidentified speaker said they plan to begin outreach to local hospitals and doctors to explain how the office will be managed.
Doctor Dirickson is named in the transcript as the county's first director of forensic services and is scheduled to "start behind the scenes work in February 2026." The transcript further states that Dirickson's title will transition to medical examiner after the office opens and "the commissioner's court takes formal action to divest the justices of the peace of their duties to conduct inquests." The transcript does not identify the date of that court action or cite a specific statute governing the divestment.
The county says the medical examiner's office is scheduled to open in 2026. The transcript does not provide a specific opening month, a final project timeline, or further budget-line details beyond the total cost and funding sources mentioned above.
Next steps described in the transcript include outreach to local hospitals and doctors and the formal action by the commissioner's court to transfer inquest duties; the transcript does not record those steps being completed.
