Fourth street entrance of Courthouse to be closed for a month

A letter was sent out on July 21 from Project Manager Travis Smith informing affected departments that the 4th street entrance, the court mailbox lobby and the Law Library will be temporarily closed August 7 through September 8 to begin the Humboldt County Courthouse 4th Street ADA Modification Project. 

New sliding doors and a new ADA compliant parking stall are some of the improvements. Access to the mailbox lobby is a complicated route taking more employee time and a security guard to access the court mailbox lobby through the jury assembly room. The law library has been closed for years since COVID. As usual, the County could have planned better & been in compliance when the building was closed during COVID without inconveniencing staff, the public and taxpayers.

The County issued a press release on August 4. Here are some additional details:

This Humboldt County Courthouse Fourth St. Modification Project's primary focus is to make ADA accessibility improvements to the Fourth St. entrance of the courthouse. Improvements will include the installation of new sliding doors, a parking lot with an ADA compliant van accessible parking stall, an accessible path linking the entrance to the public right of way, decorative security barriers, moisture barrier replacement, and new flooring and paint. The project will be completed in two phases, starting with the exterior of the building, and concluding with the interior. 

Exterior work for phase one will begin on Monday, Aug. 7. Due to the work required for this project, the Fourth St. courthouse entrances will be completely closed while exterior work takes place. The Fifth St. entrance of the courthouse will remain open, and services will continue to be provided to the public without interruptions. 

For the duration of phase one, a temporary unloading zone for vendors will be provided in the dirt parking lot on the north side of the jail. Vendors can access the courthouse by using the ramp directly in front of the jail and enter the building at the Fifth St. entrance.

The Fourth St. courthouse entrances are expected to reopen on Monday, Sept. 11.

Phase two of this project will consist of interior work at the Fourth St. courthouse entrances. Work for phase two is anticipated to begin on Friday, Sept. 8 and is expected to be completed on Monday, Oct. 9. During phase two, work will take place from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday through Friday and on weekends to avoid service interruptions.