Midwest

JONESBORO, ILL. — A new $10.7 million courthouse, which replaces a pre-Civil War facility that served Union County for 155 years, has opened in Jonesboro, a city in southwest Illinois. Designed by HOK of St. Louis, the new 46,000-square-foot courthouse consolidates Union County’s government services in one location. The courthouse is sustainable and features energy-efficient mechanical systems for heating and cooling. The new facility will cut energy costs by 25 percent compared to the old structure. The design team includes general contractor River City Construction; engineering design firm BRiC Partnership LLC; civil engineering firm Clarida & Ziegler Engineering; and project facilitator Hodgson Associates. The project was funded by a one-cent sales tax in Union County approved by taxpayers in 2010.

ALTON, ILL. — Contegra Construction has completed the two-phase, $6 million expansion of the Scientists at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center in Alton, which is located about 15 miles north of St. Louis. Formed by Lewis and Clark Community College and The University of Illinois, the center’s staff studies major rivers, their watersheds and the human communities that depend upon and impact them. Phase I of the project included three pairs of concrete mesocosm raceways, which pump at total of four million gallons of water and plankton a day from the Mississippi River. The mesocosm raceways, each of which is 75 feet long and 6 feet wide, enable researchers to predict effects on river fish populations and develop conservation strategies. Phase II included a 4,800-square-foot addition that features offices, conference space and two laboratories.