Warren County Board of Supervisors President Kelle Barfield said a new jail is finally being built on Highway 80 after decades of advocacy driven by the deteriorating conditions of the current facility, which is located on Grove Street and dates back to 1907.

The new jail will be located on Highway 80, east of the intersections of highways 61 North and 27.

The new facility will initially hold 240 inmates, with the capacity for future expansion. 

“One thing we did to control cost was designing it in such a fashion that additional capacity could be added in future years without paying for full future capacity right away,” Barfield said. 

The new jail will feature a pod structure designed to maximize bed capacity within each unit, incorporating both shared and dedicated spaces for inmates. In response to lessons learned from the pandemic, Barfield said the facility will include upgraded medical holding areas and specialized cell spaces to quarantine inmates if needed.

A price of just over $70 million, including contingencies, has been approved with the general contractor, White Construction, a national company with offices in Ridgeland.

According to Barfield, surveying and soil sampling have already commenced, and construction is expected to begin in the coming months. 

“It’s the kind of things that don’t look like construction to most people, but those things are already underway,” Barfield said. 

Following the groundbreaking, an 18-month construction period is anticipated, with an additional three months allocated for move-in, scenario planning, and staff training. 

Residents of Warren County can look forward to the completion of the new jail within the next two years, Barfield said, marking a significant upgrade in the county’s correctional infrastructure and improving conditions for both inmates and staff.

A ground-breaking event to mark the official beginning of construction is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.