Going to the Washington County courts? Try this door

After months of work, a new entryway into the Washington County courts building has opened.

Construction of the two-story atrium entrance on the south side of the government center campus in Stillwater is part of an ongoing $69 million expansion and remodeling.

"It's come a long ways and it's turned out well," said Don Theisen, the county's public works director.

The new entrance eliminates detours that people took through other hallways to arrive at a temporary security checkpoint for the courts. The new entrance includes a permanent security checkpoint that has more space for people coming and going from courtrooms.

Meanwhile, renovation continues in the south tower, which has its own large entrance, to provide updated space for county offices that deal with land records, elections, child support and other resident concerns. Once that space is finished in late 2011, the county will begin improvements on roads and parking lots on the campus.

Expansion of the Law Enforcement Center -- which includes the Sheriff's Office, the jail, the county attorney's office and the 911 communications center -- ended last year.

"The nice thing now is the campus is fully connected internally," Theisen said.