BY THE NUMBERS* 900: Existing capacity* 1,444: Additional capacity* 2,300: Éventual capacity* $210 million: Estimated project cost* 2013: Planned openingSource: Tennessee Department of Correction
Tennessee Department of Correction officials have finalized the plans for a new prison facility in Bledsoe County.
The facility will raise the inmate count from 900 at the present Southeastern Tennessee State Regional Correctional Facility to more than 2,300 and add about 250 corrections jobs, officials said.
“This expansion is starting to draw a lot of attention,” facility warden Jim Morrow said.
Would-be contractors also have been doing soil testing at the new prison site for the planned geothermal heating system, Mr. Morrow said.