TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Construction on the new Vigo County Security Center began in December of 2019 and is continuing to make progress as they look to open next year.
Vigo County Commissioner Brendan Kearns said a lot of work has been done over the last few months and noted that the project is still under budget.
“We’re at a really good phase as far as the jail’s construction,” Kearns said. “Most of the cells are installed and we’re doing touches like painting. The electrical systems are being put in place.”
Not only will the new jail look much different from the current one, but Vigo County Sheriff John Plasse said the interior will also bring improvements.
“The main difference, and it’s really a health issue, is the negative air system,” Plasse said. “Each block has it’s own air system and when we had COVID in the jail, the reason it spread so much is it’s not contained and we’re so over crowd that when we get a sickness in there, it’s going to spread.”
The jail will also have more square feet, and Plasse said he hopes this will prevent overcrowding and allow inmates to spread out more.
“We have 45 other inmates at other jails that the citizens of Vigo County are paying to house that,” Plasse said. “We’ll reduce that cost and have them here but we’ll also have room to spread people out in case we do have someone that needs quarantine.”
The expected completion date for the new facility is March 2022.
