What's that going on around the Gold Man at the Oregon State Capitol?
Location: 900 Court St. NE
Description: Crews have started installing scaffolding around the Oregon State Capitol to prep the dome for seismic updates — the latest project in a series of major construction upgrades at the building.
The scaffolding will gradually go up over the next month and will remain in place for a year.
The construction will be some of the more visible work of the multi-year Capitol Accessibility, Maintenance and Safety project. Different phases of the plan will address deficiencies with the Americans with Disabilities Act, improve at-risk mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, and address seismic safety concerns.
Much of the work has been done behind the fences and inside the building.
The Legislature approved the $59.9 million first phase of the project in 2016 and it was completed in late 2019. It approved the $70.8 million second phase in 2020.
Phase three of the project was approved by the Legislature in 2022 and will concentrate on the 1938 portion of the Capitol. Total funding for phase three is $375 million.
Project director Jodie Jones said the work on the dome will consist of replacing the observation deck tile, upgrading the anchors that hold the iconic Oregon Pioneer in place, adding shotcrete — a strong vertical concrete — to reinforce the walls and adding 22 new vertical trusses to the drum, or "cake piece."
While base isolation and improvements on the lower level of the building are designed to handle an earthquake by moving with the ground, retrofits on the rotunda dome and Oregon Pioneer are designed to make those portions more rigid and hardy.
"The portion above we want to stiffen so it doesn't fall inward or fall outward," Jones said.
Work was done on the rotunda in 1994 after an earthquake the previous year. Jones said the passage of time, paired with advances in seismic technology, meant the building was due for a safety upgrade.
"It's one more step to ensure that our Capitol building is safe and accessible," she said.
The crane passersby may spot will help take out materials in lieu of risking damage by going through the interior of the building.
Jones said the Oregon Pioneer, known to many as the Gold Man, will remain lit throughout the project. The sculpture went dark briefly in summer 2022 due to the construction, but crews quickly found a way to light the 23-foot-tall, bronze sculpture with gold leaf finish, which was first installed on top of the Capitol in 1938.
Major construction work will continue at the Capitol until the end of 2025.
Source: Capitol Accessibility, Maintenance and Safety Project
Is there something under construction you'd like to tell us about or find out more about? Contact reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: What's that going on around the Gold Man at the Oregon State Capitol?
