MOSES LAKE - The final phase of the Moses Lake Civic Center project has spilled out into the streets and sidewalks near city hall.

Starting this week and stretching into November, most of South Balsam Street is torn up between East Third and East Fifth avenues and between city hall and South Alder Street, according to Mike Moore, an engineer with the city.

The demolition is part of the prep work for reconstruction of an alleyway between Alder and Balsam and installation of a roundabout, two parking lots and landscaping and irrigation systems around the new Civic Center.

The width of sidewalks around the Civic Center and city hall will be expanded and the street narrowed to create a more pedestrian friendly space with room for landscaping, Moore said

The project is set to be completed and asphalt re-laid by mid-November, he added.

Public parking will be available on Balsam near East Third, at the Moses Lake Police Department or in back of city hall off Chestnut Street.

"We're racing the winter with this portion of the project," Moses Lake City Engineer Shawn O'Brien said.

Inside the new 41,300-square-foot building, which was started last June, crews are now finalizing plumbing and HVAC work, installing electrical fixtures and cleaning up, O'Brien said.

The contractor is slated to hand over the building to the city in mid-October and everything should be moved in prior to a grand opening scheduled to coincide with the Moses Lake Museum's annual holiday show Nov. 18.

The building, which was designed by Seattle-based architect Miller Hull, includes a dedicated museum space, a large auditorium for public events and a council chambers that can seat as many as 150 people.

The city's billing office, finance and administrative departments will move over from the current city hall to new offices, with room for future expansion.