State Capitol renovation may start next year

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The construction company selected to overhaul the Oklahoma Capitol’s interior estimates work will start in about one year and take up to five years to complete based on a phased plan that would focus one or two floors at a time.

Manhattan Construction official Xavier Neira told members of a legislative oversight panel Thursday that work could be completed in as little as two years, but only if the entire building was vacated. Neira says that approach could result in savings of as much as 20 percent on the construction costs, but that doesn’t include costs to relocate the hundreds of state employees who work in the building.

The Legislature and governor last year approved a $120 million bond issue to repair and restore the nearly 100-year-old building.