Groundbreaking for new Warren County jail announced – The Vicksburg Post

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new Warren County Jail has finally been announced.

After years of questions about when the new jail would be built, the Warren County Board of Supervisors has announced that groundbreaking for the facility will occur on Monday, September 16 at 11:30 a.m.

The new prison will replace the current facility, which was built in 1907 and last extensively modernized in 1977. Since then, conditions at the prison have deteriorated.

The new facility would nearly double the county's current inmate capacity. The project will cost about $74 million and take about two years to complete. The county will pay off the cost over 30 years.

Kelle Barfield, president of the Warren County Board of Supervisors and District 5 supervisor, said the funds were secured on “excellent terms” because of the county's good credit rating.

“Parts of the existing prison were built over 100 years ago,” she added. “At some point you have to address the situation and prepare for the future, and that's exactly what this new facility does.”

Earlier this month, Barfield said the new facility would initially accommodate 240 inmates, with capacity for future expansion.

“One of our cost control measures was to design the system so that additional capacity can be added in subsequent years without having to pay immediately for the full future capacity,” she said.

The new jail will feature a pod structure designed to maximize bed capacity in each unit and include both common areas and dedicated spaces for inmates. In response to lessons learned from the pandemic, Barfield said the facility will include enhanced medical waiting areas and dedicated cell spaces to quarantine inmates if necessary.

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place at the future location of the prison at 1200 US Highway 80.