VIDALIA — Work on the Vidalia Conference and Convention Center is going well, a city official said.

The second phase of construction at the convention center is expected to be finished by July, Vidalia Riverfront Administrator H.L. Irvin said.

“The construction crew finished putting the roof on the northern wing last week, and the office space is about 50 percent completed,” Irvin said.

Currently, the convention center’s offices are located in what will eventually become the Jim Bowie museum.

The offices being constructed during the second phase of the project are being built in an unfinished wing that was built during phase I of the convention center’s construction.

“We’ll be glad to be able to move into the new offices,” Irvin said.

The construction on the northern end of the building will add convention space that will double as a Red Cross evacuation shelter in the event of a local or state emergency.

The convention center already has a small catering kitchen, but after construction is completed it will have a full-sized commercial kitchen, and the evacuation center will have additional showering and toilet facilities.

The new construction will extend the length of the center by 107 feet, and the facility will be approximately 40,000 square feet.

The second phase of construction is being completed at a cost of $8.2 million.

The construction is being funded by state and federal grants.