The new Duval County Courthouse won't open before next week,  and it still hasn't passed a key fire-safety test, city and court officials said  Tuesday.

Courthouse builder Turner Construction could launch new tests  this evening to show whether the building's fire alarms, smoke controls and  sprinklers can work in concert, a goal that has eluded project managers for  about two weeks.

The $350 million building was once scheduled to open Tuesday, but the city's  fire chief carefully avoided vouching for the builder's new plans.

While correctly thinking through the building's design problem would be a  major step forward, "Step 2 is that they have to show it works," Chief Martin  Senterfitt reminded reporters at an evening briefing.