Two World War II-era barracks that were moved from the 1600 block at Fort McCoy, Wis., are shown next to each other March 17, 2023, in the 1700 block at the installation where they will be permanantly reset for troop use later in the year.

Contractors with JMJ Construction of New Lisbon, Wis., along with support from Heritage Movers of Blue River, Wis., moved the buildings on Feb. 24 and March 2.

The plan is to relocate the buildings to the new locations before the ground thaws, then lift them onto the new foundations and complete the remaining work by summer 2023.

This is the first time in Fort McCoy’s history that barracks building have been moved like this.

Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works officials said the contract scope of work shows that in addition to moving the buildings to their new locations, the work includes building new concrete foundations, installing new furnaces, hot water heaters, and completing site work such as installing utilities and completing grading and sidewalks.

“The contract scope of work also includes repairs to anything damaged during transport,” said DPW Construction Inspection Branch Chief Dan Hanson. “The plan is to relocate the buildings to the new locations before the ground thaws, then lift them onto the new foundations and complete the remaining work by this summer.”

The old barracks were among more than 1,500 buildings constructed by more than 8,000 workers in 1942, which took nine months to complete at a cost of $30 million (approximately $545 million today). The triangular share of the cantonment area, or the “triad,” was designed to allow troop units to live and train efficiently under one headquarters.

Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.” Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.

The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.

Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on the Defense Visual Information Distribution System at https://www.dvidshub.net/fmpao, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” and on Twitter by searching “usagmccoy.” Also try downloading the Digital Garrison app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base.