Scott,
Just thought I'd join this conversation. Your progress looks great. I am in the middle of my first build. It's a 20 X 14 space in a basement room, and I have two posts in the middle of that room, very much like you have to contend with (see photo below).
View attachment 61649
The photo is pretty old, taken in December. Since then all the benchtops have been installed and most of the track is down. (Hmmm - guess I need to take a few updated photos!) The only part of the bench work that isn't done yet is a peninsula that I'll build between the two posts and around the far post.
I also had to build a freight yard with some size constraints:
View attachment 61650
This section is 6 X 4. I may try to redo the ladder by moving the turnouts further back (toward the inside line at the top of the photo) and that way I could get a few more cars in. But I can't have real long ladders on this layout.
Hey, your layout is looking good. Best wishes as you continue.