Wood County Jail Groundbreaking. Image courtesy: WAOW TV
WISCONSIN RAPIDS, WI (WSAU-WAOW) — Wood County officials broke ground on the county’s newest jail Tuesday morning.
The new Wood County jail is a project 20 years in the making. It was first proposed in April 2001 and is now finally a reality.
According to Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker, the new jail will improve inmate and staff safety, add more inmate programming and save the county millions annually. Due to space at the current jail, the county has to transfer inmates to other counties, costing approximately 1.4 million dollars annually. This project would add 87 beds for a total of 225.
Sheriff Becker does not anticipate housing inmates out of the county once the new jail is completed.
The entire project will cost the county roughly 90 million dollars. Becker said the price to repair the current jail would cost more in the long run.
“To address these updates were many millions of dollars,” Becker said. “And would have only been a band aid covering up the undeniable need for a new jail.”
Officials with the project said it is estimated to be completed in three years.
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