The $18 million Mississippi Supreme Court building in Jackson, when complete, will convey the dignified demeanor of the judiciary housed within.

Designed to reflect the traditional treatment from the epoch of the nearby Capital Building (originally constructed in 1903 at a cost of $1 million), the new 140,000-sq.-ft. Supreme Court Building will be elaborately adorned in 10,500 pieces of limestone worth a weighty $5 million.

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"When you build a court building, especially the Supreme Court, you want it to be something that withstands time, something to admire," said Charles Smith, project manager for Roy Anderson Corp., the general contractor on the project. "This is the kind of job that makes you proud."

That sense of reverence and pride seems to have filtered down through every level on the construction site.

Andy Scoggins, the project superintendent, said the limestone was drawn from the "crown" quarry, adjacent to the "empire" quarry, which supplied the limestone that adorns the Empire State Building in New York.

RAC's work is scheduled for completion in January. It includes demolition of part of the existing Supreme Court building; construction of structural foundation; building shell and limestone work; and some HVAC, plumbing and electrical.

RAC's contract is part of a long-term project by the Mississippi Bureau of Buildings to establish a central hub of government buildings clustered around the impressive State Capitol. Consequently, several buildings in the area are undergoing renovation or reconstruction in an effort to mimic the style of the Capitol, a "gesture toward grandeur and governmental power," said Charlie Alexander, architect and senior project manager for ECD, a joint venture of the architectural firms Eley and Associates, Cook Douglas and Dale and Associates.

ECD was responsible for most of the Capitol Complex work, including the restoration of the nearby Woolfork Building, which was built in 1948 west of the Capitol, and the State Archives and History buildings on the eastern edge of the Capitol Complex.

"We've been working on that project since 1995 and the sites have flopped around several times," Alexander said. "About two years ago, we made the recommendation to keep the executive, legislative and judicial branches all together."

RAC began its work November 2001 with demolition of a portion of the Gartin Building, which was built in 1972 and currently houses the Mississippi State Supreme Court. "We took off about 20 percent of that structure and 40 ft. of (the adjacent) parking garage and canopy," Scoggins said. "We also had to remove the existing utilities and re-route them so the remainder of the building could still be functional."

Precast drill pilings from Cajun Constructors of Baton Rouge, La., comprise the deep foundation, and the whole job, including shell, required 15,000 cu. yds. of concrete, Smith said.

The second floor Supreme Court area includes a huge atrium with cast-in-place concrete curved walls, interior columns, oval windows and theater-style seating.

"In my opinion, it's a tough structural concrete job because of the size," Smith said. "The layout, form-work expertise and site engineering had to be pretty substantial."

The atrium, with its complicated layout, was indeed the biggest challenge of the concrete work, Scoggins said. The project superintendent praised Bob Ammons, chief engineer with Spencer Engineers, the Jackson-based structural engineering firm.

"Their drawings didn't have any errors to speak of," Scoggins added. "With so many curves, columns and different levels, one tiny mistake would have been disastrous when they got to a corner."

On the building's exterior, the limestone is the most significant feature of the building and its construction, Smith said. "It's very difficult to get someone to handle it," he added. "This type of work requires such a high level of expertise. If you've never done it before, it would be difficult to come and start setting it for a number of reasons."

Even though the limestone is extremely durable, careful handling is required to avoid chipping and cracking. Additionally, each piece is "too heavy for even two men to lift," Smith said. Average large pieces weigh 400 lbs. and the heaviest pieces weigh in at 15,000 lbs.

The 48,000-lb. columns that will adorn the front of the building each come in six segments that will be pieced together. "The handling procedures and care required with each piece of stone, if you've never done it before, would make it hard to keep up to speed," Smith added. "If you took a block mason and asked him to set this, there would definitely be a learning curve."

RAC subcontracted Mississippi-based Thomas Floyd Masonry and Texas-based Lucia for the expert masonry.

Although RAC completed the limestone on the nearby Woolfork Building, Smith said there isn't a huge market for that type of work.

He added that even though the limestone appears sturdy and structurally significant, it is merely a façade that must be intricately supported. He likened the whole project to putting together a complicated puzzle.

"Each piece has been specifically cut and fabricated to fit a certain spot," he said. Individual, sequentially numbered pieces, which have been fabricated with slots and curves, are shipped in daily from the Indiana Limestone Co.

"All of the pieces have to fit together perfectly," Smith added.

Each week, an average of four trucks deliver limestone panels to the site. Each piece is positioned with anchor bolts according to its identifying number and the design specifications. The panels are placed in an interlocking pattern from the ground up. Then each piece shimmed, caulked and treated with a special sealant. "When you put it up, it's got to be right," Scoggins said. A whole area would have to be removed if something were misplaced or damaged.

Due to the weight of the limestone and height of the job, the scaffolding is much more substantial than normally required, said safety coordinator Dick Ayres. A special system of pulleys was designed to guide each piece into place.

"It is a very difficult job and that's why we chose Andy (Scoggins), who is a second-generation construction superintendent," Smith said. "The engineering needs of the job would just overwhelm a superintendent who hasn't worked up to that level."