JEFFERSON CITY, MO — Parsons Brinckerhoff has been awarded a contract to design a replacement facility for the Fulton State Mental Hospital in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Originally opened in 1851, the Fulton State Mental Hospital was the first public mental institution west of the Mississippi River. 

Today, it houses the state’s only maximum-security psychiatric facility, the Biggs Forensic Center, which opened in 1937 and treats patients with serious mental illness who are committed by Missouri courts for evaluation and treatment related to a crime, or who have seriously assaulted patients or staff in other state psychiatric hospitals.

The $211 million replacement facility will feature a 300-bed, high- security complex replacing the existing maximum- and intermediate-security facilities, and supporting infrastructure.

Construction of the facility is expected to begin in 2015 with the new hospital planned to be completed by the end of 2017.

Parsons Brinckerhoff is a leader in developing and operating infrastructure around the world, with 14,000 employees dedicated to meeting the needs of clients and communities in the Americas, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia-Pacific regions. 

The firm offers skills and resources in strategic consulting, planning, engineering, program/construction management, and operations for transportation, power, mining, water/wastewater, and community development projects.  

Parsons Brinckerhoff is the professional services division of Balfour Beatty, an international infrastructure services organization that also provides construction services, support services, and infrastructure investments (www.pbworld.com).