BISMARCK, N.D. — Construction on North Dakota’s new state laboratory facility is moving steadily toward completion, bringing a long-awaited upgrade to a critical piece of the state’s public health and environmental protection infrastructure.
The existing state lab is more than 50 years old, prompting the state to move forward with a modern, purpose-built replacement. The new state-of-the-art facility has been under construction since 2024 and is now entering its final phases.
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Early construction focused on assembling pre-cast concrete wall systems, allowing crews to establish the building’s structure efficiently. Today, construction teams from Kraus Anderson are completing specialized laboratory spaces on the second and third floors, along with work on the building’s extensive mechanical systems.
“The amount of work up in the penthouse of this building is, I would say, non-standard with a lot of the commercial buildings in Bismarck-Mandan,” said Senior Project Manager Tucker Norton.
According to Norton, the building’s mechanical infrastructure is far more complex than a typical commercial project, reflecting the demands of advanced scientific testing and safety requirements.
Norton said the ductwork is so wide you could almost drive a car through it.
The new facility will house a wide range of laboratories dedicated to state testing and scientific analysis, supporting more than 90,000 different types of tests conducted annually. These tests play a critical role in safeguarding both public health and the environment across North Dakota.
“With us having bio-safety level three contamination areas in this building, that requires a lot of additional separate mechanical systems,” said Norton.
Those enhanced systems are designed to ensure proper containment, air handling and environmental controls, particularly in high-risk testing areas. The complexity of the mechanical design is a defining feature of the project and a key reason for the extensive work underway in the building’s upper mechanical levels.
Beyond its core laboratory functions, the new state lab will include a dedicated training lab, additional space to accommodate future growth, and a visitor walkway that will allow the public and officials to observe live testing operations safely.
Construction is expected to wrap up in April, with the state planning to begin moving equipment into the facility in May. Once operational, the building will replace the aging lab and significantly expand the state’s capacity for testing, research and emergency response.
The project represents a major investment in modern infrastructure, ensuring North Dakota’s testing capabilities remain reliable, efficient and prepared to meet future demands.
Originally reported by Michael Anhalt in KFYR TV.
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