A project to fix water damage to the Butler County Courthouse basement floor and walls is under way. The contract includes rerouting the flow of rainwater. Uhl Construction of Allison Park is doing the work, tearing up the sidewalk along West Diamond Street.

A $237,500 project to prevent further water damage at the Butler County Courthouse began this week.

Contractor Uhl Construction of Allison Park is excavating the sidewalk and pulling out pipe along West Diamond Street.

“We started demolition,” said Joe Saeler, assistant director and manager of operations for the Butler County Community Development Corporation.

Saeler, project manager, said the workers dug roughly 5 feet down.

He said new underdrains will be added and the affected area waterproofed.

“We always add 2 inches of insulation,” he said.

The project also includes rerouting rainwater to keep it from entering the basement.

Saeler said the water previously ended up on the street before seeping into the building.

The water will be directed into a catch basin.

Tom Holman, deputy court administrator, said the water damaged the basement walls and flooded the floor.

Along with structural damage, the water and accompanying humidity jeopardized the books in the law library, which is in the basement.

Holman said if work becomes disruptive, any hearings in the courthouse will be moved to the adjacent government center, which also has courtrooms.

“We're prepared to move the judges to different courtrooms if need be,” he said.

The present courthouse was built in 1885 on the site of two earlier courthouses.

In the fall of 1908, improvements to the courthouse, which included moving the side walls out to the street line and adding a third floor, were completed.

The courthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.