Bellflower : Courtroom Ramps Added

County supervisors have approved payment of $114,000 in extra construction costs for the new Municipal Court building in Bellflower to provide wheelchair ramps that were mistakenly omitted from the original design and to add mechanical lifts at jury boxes and witness stands in all six new courtrooms.

With the additions, which will delay completion by about three months, the $18.7-million Los Cerritos Municipal Court is expected to open in July, said Jim Abbott, deputy director of the county Facilities Management Department.

While some extra expense was caused by the design oversight, a request by the county Commission on Disability for three lifts in each courtroom was not made until after the contract was awarded in early 1986, Abbott said. The commission said state law required the changes, he said.

Courtroom lifts also will be included in courthouses being built in Downey, Van Nuys and East Los Angeles, Abbott said.