Getahn Ward

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Both houses of Congress expected to approve fiscal year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill this week

New courthouse is planned along Church Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues

An end is in sight for the more-than-two-decades-long quest for a new Nashville federal courthouse.

The fiscal year 2016 Omnibus Appropriations bill Congress unveiled late Tuesday includes the full $181.5 million for design and construction of the building planned along Church Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues. It would replace judiciary operations at the aging Estes Kefauver Federal Building at 801 Broadway.

Both houses of Congress are expected to pass the omnibus spending bill later this week.

"This is a rare move because it funds the courthouse all at once instead of creating uncertainty and waste by spreading the project out over several years," said Republican Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, a member of the Senate appropriations committee who played a key role in securing the funding.

New Nashville federal courthouse project in limbo

Nashville federal courthouse funding expected

The Nashville courthouse ranks No. 1 on the federal judiciary’s nationwide priority list. Already, $26 million has been spent on land acquisition and design with a project first announced in 2002.

Kevin Sharp, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, expects some redesign of the project because of the age of the original drawings. The new courthouse would have to meet current design guidelines.

"The court is thrilled that Congress recognized the need for a new courthouse in Nashville," he said. "We appreciate the leadership of Sen. Alexander and our congressional delegation -- U.S. Reps. (Jim) Cooper, (Marsha) Blackburn and (Diane) Black, along with the help we received from Gov. Haslam, (former) Mayor Dean and community leaders."

Cooper, D-Nashville, praised funding for a new federal courthouse, which is the outcome of a more than two-decades effort to replace an existing courthouse deemed “inadequate.”

"Sen. Alexander was essential in our efforts, and I thank him for his leadership," Cooper said. "For safety reasons, Nashville has to have a new courthouse, and we've needed one for more than 20 years. This is a huge win for our city."

James C. Duff, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, said the $948 million provided to the U.S. General Services Administration in the fiscal year 2016 appropriations bill for federal courthouse construction should be enough to enough to cover remaining site, design, and construction costs for multiple courthouse projects in their order in this plan.

Those projects include at least Nashville; Toledo, Ohio; Charlotte, N.C.; Des Moines, Iowa; Greenville, S.C.; Anniston, Ala.; Savannah, Ga. and San Antonio, Texas.

"We are grateful to Congress for recognizing both the integrity of the Judiciary's asset management planning process, as well as the central role the courthouse occupies in assuring the public’s confidence in its justice system," Duff said in a statement.

Reach Getahn Ward at 615-726-5968 and on Twitter @getahn.