The Bourbon County Commission received an update on the Law Enforcement Center Thursday morning, learning that the project continues to move forward despite winter weather and rough terrain.

“There’s a lot of underground going on right now,” Gary Walker of Universal Construction Company said, saying they are currently working on the deep underground features such as water, sewer, fiber and electricity.

Because of the rock underground, Walker said they had to raise the pad about a foot to try to avoid jack-hammering through as much rock, while in other places they had to dig further to find the rock since the goal is to have the concrete foundation resting on it.

Walker said they have been pushing the project in order to get the concrete laid before it got too cold to do so. While the construction team can work on the metal building in cold weather, the concrete has to have the correct temperatures to set.

“Winter came early,” Walker said, but added they still plan to pour concrete Wednesday, though that schedule also depends on how difficult it is to drive through the remaining underground rock.

“You have no control,” commission chairperson Barbara Albright said of the weather and terrain.

The metal building of the jail is supposed to be delivered by the end of this week while the cell pods are to be fabricated by the end of the month and delivered by the end of January. After that, the stairs that are also being constructed off-site will be delivered and installed.

Walker said they will meet with the architects soon to make sure they have met their expectations so far, saying that is part of their quality control to make sure they get it done right the first time.

Walker also addressed the finances so far, saying the buyout of the project is nearly complete and the construction contingency is still completely intact.

“It’s been a fun adventure so far,” Walker said of the project.

Commissioner Lynne Oharah, who frequently attends project meetings and visits the site, said they are currently close to their target goal and it is still on schedule to be completed by the end of 2017.