Smith County to break ground on new courthouse [Video]

TYLER, Texas — **EDITOR’S NOTE: The video above originally aired Aug. 8.

Smith County will break ground on the new Smith County Courthouse this week.

The ceremony begins Thursday. Aug. 15 at 9 a.m. It will be held behind the current courthouse on Spring Avenue.

The new courthouse comes from a $179 million bond approved by voters in Nov. 2022. Crews could be seen in Downtown Tyler this month performing demolition to make space for the new courthouse. It will replace the current courthouse, which has been standing downtown since the 1950s. The new courthouse, officials say, will contribute to creating a cohesive downtown campus for better accessibility to services, preservation of history, mental health promotion and employee retention.

Smith County also approved a $19 million bond to construct a new parking garage downtown, which broke ground in October. It is …