Hidalgo County Commissioners now have the next steps laid out to finalize construction and open the new county courthouse.

A report released on July 14 by an outside engineering firm evaluated the work on the courthouse done by the contractor.

"The good news is we now know what's wrong with the courthouse, what still remains to be done, and all of the things that have been identified are fixable," Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez said.

The new courthouse was originally scheduled to open at the start of 2023. Seven months later, the problems are laid out in the report.

The engineering firm — Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates Inc. — called the roof in "fair" condition, and "isolated areas in poor condition."

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

"In layman's terms, there's leakage," Cortez said. "The roof is not completely sealed."

The main problems are issues with the roof, the windows and the cracking stucco.

Cortez says the county is working to get the contractor to make the repairs.

"We're concerned with the roof to make sure it didn't leak, and it does” Cortez said. “We want to make sure our windows are sealed tight, and they're not, so we need to fix that. There’s also some issues internally inside the courthouse that need to be fixed.”

With nearly $192 million spent, the new courthouse will remain closed until the next steps are taken to fix the remaining problems.

“The best estimate that I can give the public is we have been told that if all the supplies and materials are available, then it shouldn't take more than three months to complete all those issues,” Cortez said.

Supply delays could mean it’ll take six months to complete the repairs, Cortez added.