Jill Midkiff, 502/564-4240

FRANKFORT, Ky.- The Finance and Administration has reached an agreement with Messer Construction Company, general contractor for the Transportation Cabinet office building, to replace substandard computer cabling in the building.

Messer and its subcontractor, Pomeroy IT Solutions, have already begun replacing the cabling. The new cable has tested in accordance with required performance specifications. The replacement will be performed at no additional cost to the Commonwealth, although the required completion date was extended by several weeks. The project, located in downtown Frankfort, is now scheduled to be completed by January 19, 2004.

In late August, EOP Architects of Lexington, the Cabinet’s architectural and engineering consultants, discovered contract compliance issues with the computer wiring being installed in the building. Independent testing confirmed that much of the computer cabling installed was not in conformance with the contract specifications and Finance and Administration Cabinet Secretary Gordon Duke directed that the deficient wiring be replaced.

"We are very pleased that Messer and Pomeroy have worked with us to correct the computer cabling issues with this important building," said Duke. "The contractors have been very responsive in addressing this problem as quickly as possible. Now, when Transportation’s employees move in, they will have in place the technology infrastructure needed to fulfill their duties for many years to come."

Construction on the 425,000 square foot office building began February 2002 and was originally expected to be complete by late Fall 2003. State officials are currently exploring different options regarding the move of Transportation Cabinet workers from the State Office Building into the new facility. As work progresses on the cable replacement, employees are expected to relocate in floor-by-floor phases. The move is projected to be completed in February 2004.