Officials break ground on new North Dakota State Laboratory on Capitol grounds

Officials broke ground Tuesday on a new $70 million State Laboratory on the Capitol grounds.

Gov. Doug Burgum, Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller and members of the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Environmental Quality were on hand to deliver remarks on the new facility and toss the first scoops of dirt for what is expected to be a two-year construction project.

“This is the first new building that is being built here since the completion of the Heritage Center 43 years ago,” Burgum said. “So, this is an historic step forward for our state.”

The purpose of the State Laboratory is to assist labs across the state with safe handling training and testing for diseases, according to the Governor’s Office. Staff also test for water quality, mosquito and tick diseases and can investigate natural or man-made disasters that require lab testing.

Construction on the new facility is expected to be completed in June 2026.

Burgum said, with the upgraded capacity and capability of the new lab, the state will save money by not needing to send work out of state since it will be able to be completed in-house at the new facility.

“This building, in particular the lab, is going to be focused on protecting both our environment and the people of the state of North Dakota,” he said.

The new lab will also include a biosafety level three area where lab technicians will be working with dangerous diseases and substances, like tuberculosis and anthrax, or unknown substances.

Christie Massen, section director of North Dakota State Lab Services, said the state lab is already operating biosafety level three labs in the state, but the new facility will enhance their capabilities and capacity.

“Really what this building is going to do for us is expand our ability to really house our equipment in an effective and efficient way so our workflows make sense,” Massen said. “It’ll be more efficient and faster.”

Massen said the future of the old state lab space is still up in the air, but her team is excited to get away from the leaky roof and other hindrances at their current building on Main Avenue.

The designs for the new $70 million, 104,000-square-foot facility were unveiled in November. The new lab will house about 50 staff  from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Environmental Quality, according to the Governor’s Office.

In 2021, the Legislature approved $15 million for planning and design of the new facility. In 2023, lawmakers allocated $55 million to replace the existing facility.

“This was a very exciting day,” Massen said. “It’s very momentous and the fact that we get to start this project now after planning for so long, it’s just great to finally start to see it take shape.”

Crews will close a portion of a road adjacent to the northeast parking lot during construction of the new lab.