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Just as the north country is bracing for winter, some 150 Dulles State Office Building employees got some good news they will be able to park in the buildings garage once again.
The buildings garage is slated to reopen at 6 a.m. Monday. Those state employees were left scrambling for other places to park during the five-month, $1 million project.
Many of them ended up going to the citys Stone Street lot nearly a block away. State employees pay about $10 a month to park in the garage.
Before the work began, city officials had concerns the garage closing was going to cause major problems, but they never materialized.
I think it went better than I thought, said Elliott B. Nelson, assistant to the city manager.
Over the weekend, workers are completing final touches to get ready for Mondays reopening, said Heather Groll, a spokeswoman for the state Office of General Services in Albany.
The project went extremely smoothly and professionally, she said.
She said about $46,000 was added to the $977,000 budget for two change orders.
Workers had to complete additional concrete repairs and upgrade security cameras.
The project also included resurfacing driveways and parking levels, revamping entrances and exits, installing new doors and stairs and updating lighting.
At one point, it appeared the project would not be complete until February, but a new deck was finished more quickly than had been anticipated.
The general contractor was Bette and Cring, Watertown.
Meanwhile, the $1.5 million major reconstruction of nearby Clinton Street is dormant for the winter until work crews come back in the spring to finish that job.