Facility Opens Under Budget and Ahead of Schedule

Walker County broke ground on its new jail in mid-December 2012 and celebrated its completion March 25, 2014, with a well-attended ribbon-cutting ceremony.

For six years, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards had been urging Walker County to build a new jail. The old, run-down lockup was only able to pass inspection via a grandfather clause, and furthermore, the jail was bursting at the seams forcing the county to ship inmates elsewhere.

The new, $18-plus million, 75,000-square-foot, 268-bed facility was constructed in a podular model instead of the classic linear model and can eventually be expanded to hold more than 500 inmates.

The county contracted with Sedalco to build its new facility; Kenny Burns, AIA, Burns Architecture, LLC, served as project architect.

The new jail project came in about $700,000 under budget and was completed one month ahead of schedule, with the first inmates moving in on April 9.