By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The Capitol Complex in Springfield is a giant construction zone. 

From replacing a parking lot with an underground garage to moving the Senate next door for 2 1/2 years, there’s a lot going on. And the Capitol architect, Andrea Aggertt, says it’s costing more than anticipated, but she sounds neither surprised nor outraged.

“Our starehouse has some aging infrastructure that needs to begin soon,” she says. “We went through an extreme vetting process to make sure the decisions were being made right.

“Frankly, there are things in the Capitol that (would cause us to) expose ourselves to huge risk if we don’t fix them in a timely manner. We are still within budget, but we are $50-60 million over. (The new total is) $243 million, still within an appropriate amount for us to complete the construction.”

The work to replace the parking lot north of the Stratton Building with a two-level underground garage is well underway. Aggertt says work will begin in July to construct a more secure north entrance to the Capitol. Part of that will be underground, with a security station outside the building itself.

Much of the work addresses safety and accessibility shortcomings.