CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office broke ground at the site of their future new building.
This is the first expansion for this building in over 30 years and it will not only expand the building but also equip it with state-of-the-art technology.
Commissioner Joe Gonzalez said the expansion is much needed in the county and will make a big difference for the office.
"Something that was way overdue," Gonzalez said. "We had been in this building for 30 years, and it was already falling apart. You know, the equipment was all broken down and not working properly and they were having a hard time doing business."
Officials said this project has been in the works for a long time and they're excited to see it finally get underway.
"This is going to improve the number of autopsy stations and the efficiency like I mentioned before, it's going to improve the turn around time and better facility to be closer to the grieving family," Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Rajesh Kannan said.
"In the field of forensics, it will be a more modern facility with better lighting, more stations and where we can handle cases more efficiently and more properly so that we can provide the best quality death investigation for this community," Director of Operations Forrest Mitchell said.
The expansion is split into two phases. The first phase is the construction of the new building which will take 12 to 16 months. Then, the second phase is the renovation of the existing building which will take three to six months.
"For the future examiner, this is basically built for the expansion and future and a ME office doesn't get built every 10 years, so I think it's built for the next generation," Kannan said.
But most importantly, Gonzalez said families will rest easy knowing their family members are in good hands in Nueces County.
"I think by the time we finished it will be a state-of-art facility," Gonzalez said.