A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Warren County Jail Monday. The $74 million project will replace the current jail, which was built in 1907 and received its last major upgrade in 1977.

County and city officials, along with partners of the project, gathered at the site of the new facility at 1200 Old Highway 80.

“To say I’m glad this day has come is an understatement,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Pace has long been a major proponent of the new jail.

“I truly believe that at the completion, this will provide a facility that is not only safer for the staff, safer for the detainees, but safer for this community, that this will be a professionally constructed, modern facility that hopefully will last generations into the future,” Pace said.

The new facility – which will be constructed by general contractor White Construction, a national company with offices in Ridgeland – will have a capacity of 240 inmates, nearly doubling the county’s current capacity. The facility will also be built to allow expansions in the future.

“To be really honest, we’ve got to thank that board from 117 years ago. That board built a building that paid dividends for 117 years while being fiducially responsible to our taxpayers,”  District 3 Supervisor Shawn Jackson said. “We’re here today because we kicked that can down the road as long as we could. It’s time to step out of there into a better facility,”

The county will pay off the cost of the new jail over a 30-year period. The project is expected to take about two years to complete.

The Vicksburg Post will continue to provide updates as construction progresses.