OKLAHOMA CITY – A multi-year, multimillion-dollar “facelift” of the State Capitol is nearing completion.
The restoration project started in 2014 with a definition of scope, requests for proposals, and selection of the design-build contractors, Bonnie Campo, public information manager for the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services, related recently. Completion of the job is projected for Spring 2022, she said.
Rehabilitation of the century-old building, literally from the ground up, has been a monumental task.
When the work is completed, all of the plumbing in the Capitol will be new. All of the plumbing in the subbasement – all of the water and sewer mains – have been replaced. The concrete floor in the basement (now known as the ground floor) was removed by excavation, new lines were installed, and a new concrete floor was poured afterward.
All of the Capitol’s original exterior doors were corroded and warped, Campo said. “Unfortunately, they couldn’t be saved,” she said. Consequently, new doors were fabricated to match the historic profile of the original doors. In addition, the original steel pocket doors on the south portico were restored.
All 477 original steel frame windows in the Capitol were fully restored. The process involved sending the removable pieces to Kansas City to be stripped of lead paint, repaired, and new glass installed, Campo said. The frames were unable to be removed, so they were repaired and repainted in situ.
All of the windows received new sealant and were spray tested with water to ensure they did not leak, she said. Three coats of paint were installed on the frames: a rust inhibitor, primer, and final coat. A storm window was added on the interior to provide as much thermal insulation as possible.
“From start to finish, each window required a six-month restoration time and all of the windows on each elevation were typically done at the same time,” Campo said.
All 21 miles of mortar joints between the stones on the Capitol were re-pointed. More than 4,600 repairs to the white limestone and pink granite blocks were performed, and some blocks were replaced. All of the stone was subjected to a power washing and steam cleaning process, and some of the worst stain spots on the building received a micro-abrasion cleaning treatment, Campo said.
All of the staircases around the building were disassembled and new concrete structures installed. The granite stair treads were placed back in their original spots and new railing with undermounted LED lights were installed.
Over the years, hundreds of miles of telephone, data, and coax cabling had been added to the building. When the restoration project started, approximately 80% of the cabling was abandoned in place, Campo said. The project not only included installation of new, modern cabling, but dedicated pathways and conduit were established “so it can be easily traced and maintained in the future.”
The terrazzo state seal on the first floor of the Capitol was installed in 1966. Since it contained “some inaccuracies,” a new oculus was cut into the first floor, necessitating removal of that seal, Campo said.
The Foundry in Norman has created a new bronze state seal that’s scheduled for installation this month. The seal will be brought into the building in pieces and then sealed together. The new seal will be 14 feet in diameter and weigh 3,000 pounds, Campo said.
The tunnel between the Capitol and the east parking lot underneath Lincoln Boulevard was constructed in 1974. Over the years it developed serious issues with water infiltration.
In the summer of 2018, crews began unearthing sections of the tunnel to install new waterproofing around the concrete shell. In late 2018 and into 2019, Lincoln Boulevard was rerouted through the House of Representatives parking lot on the east side of the Capitol to allow for that section of the tunnel to be addressed. Exterior work on the tunnel was finished in 2019; the interior of the tunnel was waterproofed and new interior finishes were installed in 2020.
The Legislature authorized $245 million in bonds in two separate legislative actions (2014 and 2016) to finance the restoration work. “We are also earning interest and premium on the bonds that are being used in the project,” Campo said.
Ultimately the project is estimated to cost $280 million, “which is on the lower end of similar restoration projects,” Campo said. Minnesota’s Capitol restoration project cost $310 million and the Kansas statehouse restoration cost $330 million, she said.
Construction on Oklahoma’s State Capitol began in 1914 and was completed in 1917, the year the United States entered World War I; however, the dome, constructed of steel reinforced concrete and reinforced plaster casts, was not installed until 2002. The Capitol building contains 452,508 square feet of floor area.