Progress continues on a project to build a new Saline County Jail and sheriff’s office facility.

According to Saline County, many of the exterior walls have gone up, as have the dividing walls with the housing blocks. Individual rooms and offices are starting to take shape within the building,

Access roads from Pacific Avenue and Front Street are being turned from rock to concrete and asphalt over the next few weeks, with a goal of getting the site ready for winter.

Construction remains on track for completion by the end of September 2023, although lead times for electrical equipment in particular are starting to push up against that deadline. Financially, the project is doing well. In fact, staff will be recommending to Commissioners next Tuesday construction of a storage building west of the main jail with the costs fully covered by unspent project contingency funds.

The new jail project was approved by voters. A one-half percent sales tax to help pay for the new building was enacted on April 1st, 2021.

The sales tax that pays for the jail bonds also continues to come in significantly higher than projected, with September 2022 receipts being the largest collection since the sales tax began.

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Saline County Photo: Looking to the northeast from the central control station through what will soon be the lobby and front entrance of the building.