Klausner Lumber One LLC could soon begin construction on a sawmill that will be located at the catalyst site in Northwestern Suwannee County. Meanwhile, improvements continue on county owned land at the catalyst site.

The catalyst site is located Northwest of the I-10 and US 90 interchange. CenterState Bank in Jacksonville owns approximately 236 acres at the site, the county owns approximately 287 acres (25 acres not on catalyst site), and 120 acres was deeded to Klausner Lumber One LLC.

Klausner Lumber One

According to County Administrator Randy Harris, the general contractor for Klausner is on site and ready to begin construction immediately. To date, the company has installed underground utilities and is ready to begin vertical construction. Harris said he anticipates construction to begin on the site within the next 30 days.

169th Road

169th Road, a road that leads to the catalyst site from US 90, is currently under reconstruction, along with the access road that connects 169th Road to the Klausner site. Harris said the road is being reconstructed to handle the anticipated truck load. This project is being funded by the Florida Department of Transportation. 

US 90 turn lanes

Designs for turn lanes onto 169th Road from US 90 are currently underway. The designs include the extension of the four lanes that currently exist at the interchange of US 90 and I-10, and will extend west to accommodate the turn lanes onto 169th Road. Harris said he anticipates the designs being completed by September. Once the designs are completed, the project will go out to bid. Construction on the turn lanes could begin in mid-December. This project is also being funded by FDOT.

Water treatment plant

The county is currently in the bid process for the construction of the water treatment plant, which will be located on the Southwest side of the catalyst site. The deadline for all bids is today (Friday). Harris said construction of the water treatment plant is likely to begin within 30 days. Two test wells and two monitoring wells have been installed already. The project is being funded by the Community Development Block Grant.