Knoxville — Loudon County leaders broke ground on a new jail Friday afternoon.
This expansion will house an additional 270 inmates. The expansion began in 2010 after an overcrowding issue was noticed, according to Sheriff Tim Guider.
Guider said the excess of inmates was manageable for a few years, but once they became uncontrollable, firms were brought in for assessment in 2012. Plans were officially drawn up in 2014.
The expansion is expected to be an 18-month project. In the current building, there are 91 certified beds, but because of overcrowding problems, the current jail has had to house up to 200 inmates at one time.
"I wanted this space for mainly the safety of our officers and obviously when you're crowded in there like, if you will, sardines, there's a lot of tensions between the inmates and the officers so you know this is going to alleviate a lot of that, I believe," Guider said.
Space will be left for future expansions behind the new building. After renovations in the old jail, Guider said it will be used to house female inmates.