Madison County jail bed expansion comes in under budget

Madison County is adding more than 100 new beds to its new still-under-construction county jail. As IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports, officials say the planned expansion is also under budget.

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00;00;00;07 - 00;00;17;25 Thomas Ouellette The new jail's housing facility was estimated to cost about .3 million, but is coming in at nearly 0,000 under budget. Eric Weflen is the architect of record for the project. He told the Madison County commissioners that the savings are due in part to the construction process being straightforward. 00;00;17;27 - 00;00;26;13 Eric Weflen You go out there and you start digging for footings and you don't know exactly what you're going and you think you know what you're going to run into. But everything progressed smoothly, on that front. 00;00;26;13 - 00;00;45;02 Thomas Ouellette The additional 104 beds will not impact the main facility's construction timeline. Work on the jail is estimated to finish later this year. The sheriff's department can start training in the building in October. Meanwhile, the additional housing is expected to be ready to fill in the first quarter of 2027. I'm Thomas Ouellette.

The new jail’s housing facility was estimated to cost about $7.3 million, but is coming in nearly $400,000 under budget.

Eric Weflen is the Architect of Record for the project. He told the Madison County Commissioners that the savings are due, in part, to the construction process being straightforward.

“You go out there and you start digging for footings and you don’t know exactly what you’re gonna-. You think you know what you’re gonna run into, but everything progressed smoothly on that front,” he said.  

The additional 104 beds will not impact the main facility’s construction timeline.

Work on the jail is estimated to finish later this year.  The sheriff’s department can start training in the building in October.  Meanwhile, the additional housing is expected to be ready to fill in the first quarter of 2027.

In previous meetings, Weflen has said the new jail should help make the sheriff’s department more versatile when classifying inmates, as it will offer spaces dedicated to programs for those with mental health needs and those with substance use disorders. 

The total cost for the jail project is estimated to be around $100 million. The Madison County Commissioners approved the jail’s construction contract back in late 2024, taking out $80 million in bonds and appropriating $7 million in American Rescue Plan Act dollars to fund it.

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer. Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu.