Wake County Courthouse To Open On Regular Schedule Monday At 7 A.M.

8/7/2006

Clean-up and repair work from Friday's water leak continues

The Wake County Courthouse will open on its regular schedule Monday, August 7, at 7 a.m. Two of the building's four elevators will not be in service until Tuesday.

Around 9:30 p.m. Friday, a water leak affected 45,000 square feet on the first and second floors of the courthouse and part of the underground parking area. Two contract workers were working on the sprinkler system when the pressurized pipe burst. Both workers sustained minor injuries and were taken to WakeMed.

"All of our systems are back online, except for two of our elevators," said Dave Goodwin, director of Wake County General Services. "Some paper files were damaged, but these are backed up on computer and will just need to be reprinted. Our staff and contractors have done amazing work all weekend to restore the water damaged areas so that we can reopen on regular schedule Monday."

An environmental crew first assessed the extent of damage to begin the clean-up Friday night followed by a restoration crew that steam cleaned and treated the flooded areas with an anti-fungal solution. Crews will continue to work this week to monitor and clean up any residual damage and to ensure the flooded areas are completely dry and repaired. Damaged ceiling tiles also have been replaced. A few telephones and computers were damaged, and also are being replaced. An exact cost for clean up and repairs has yet to be determined. Early estimates range from $25,000 to $50,000.

"We're thankful the two individuals who where injured in this incident were not seriously injured," Goodwin said. "And, I'm proud of the quality work our staff has done throughout this emergency to ensure the courthouse will open on time."

County officials encourage anyone scheduled to be in court Monday to come early since all of the elevators will not be in operation until Tuesday.

The Wake County Clerk of Courts Web site is located at:  http://web.co.wake.nc.us/courts/

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