Workers got a head start settling into offices Friday at the new Bronx County Hall of Justice on East 161st Street before its doors officially open.

The state-of-the-art building will be opened to the public Monday. The new courthouse is a nine-story building, and it is hoped the extra space will alleviate overcrowding at the Bronx County and Bronx Family criminal courthouses.

Ground was broken on the courthouse in 2001. A state court system journal calls the new building the largest courthouse ever built in the United States.

Some residents still have parking concerns about the new facility. Construction on an underground garage was halted after inspectors found that the ceiling was bowed.