Construction of the new Gibson County jail and sheriff’s facilities have encountered some seasonal delays. They still expect them to be completed by November 2024.
These buildings are under construction near the current facilities. Site A is the new sheriff’s offices and Site B is the new jail.
The goal was to get the roof and walls on site B by the end of the year to start building the interior — but Sheriff Bruce Vanoven said crews are running out of daylight.
“You get into the winter months, we don't have the sunlight like we usually do,” he said. “So these guys are coming in extremely early. And they have to leave at like 4:30 or five o'clock because there's no more sunshine.”
When work resumes, you can watch it here
He said the walls and roof should be built by mid-February. He said they’re also waiting for warmer temperatures to resume concrete work.
This project stems from a 2019 lawsuit against the county which alleged jail overcrowding. Vanoven became Sheriff in 2023.
The new facility will hold 220 inmates. The current jail holds 120. Vanoven said this facility will allow for more programs such as Celebrate Recovery and Alcoholics Anonymous.
“Site A right now they're doing a lot of wire work inside, they're basically running conduit for the electric for networking with the computers, and then getting the heating and air ready,” he said. “We're trying to prolong putting up the drywall because once we get to that point of putting up drywall, we're gonna have to have heating and air.”
This is a $30 million dollar project. Vanoven said the city of Princeton will eventually raze the old jail and sheriff’s facilities.
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