WISCONSIN RAPIDS - Six months after officials broke ground on the new Wood County Jail, passersby are starting to see the building take shape.
"Significant progress has been made in the last few weeks," said Reuben Van Tassel, Wood County's facilities manager
The Wood County Council approved construction of a new jail at a cost of $58 million as early as 2021, but when bids for the project were submitted in September, that estimate rose to $98 million.
A new jail with a 300-inmate capacity is under construction, requiring Wood County inmates to be housed in other jails at a cost of about $1.4 million annually.
Plans to build Wood County Jail?
Warm weather in early 2023 allowed construction crews to work ahead of schedule, and construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.
Tim Nordlund, project manager, said changes could occur in the event of bad weather or supply issues. According to him, until the construction materials arrived properly.
Phil Kalman, project manager, expects workers to begin extending the second floor walls of the new building in mid-May. According to him, they will first work on the second floor due to the layout of the building.
Is the jail project still in the budget?
Laura Wallenstein, chairwoman of the Wood County Jail Development Select Committee, said the project is under budget.
The board meets every month or two after Wood County Council meetings to receive project updates and review any change orders that require board approval. They may need to meet more often as the project progresses, Wallenstein said.
Wood County Sheriff Sean Baker said he is impressed with how well the project is progressing The group made several proposals regarding advanced technology that could be used to make prisons more profitable.
According to Van Tassel, engineers have proposed installing a new type of device in prisons that detects smoke, carbon monoxide and other harmful compounds in the air. The device would centralize the system, make it harder for inmates to disperse and potentially save about $2,000 a year in maintenance costs.
Have a problem with the project?
As the building grows, the space for building materials decreases. Construction workers partially cordoned off the Market Street parking lot to store materials for courthouse and park construction workers. According to Van Tassel, this creates inconvenience for people who use it as a courthouse parking lot.
According to Van Tassel, the Baker Street parking lot was empty. Parking can be a problem when there are jury trials or other events that can draw large crowds to the courthouse, he said. There have been some complaints from people trying to cross Baker Street, but the problems mostly occur during the morning and evening rush hour when people are commuting to work.
Van Tassel said the county installed flashing lights at the crosswalks in the middle of the courthouse that pedestrians can activate when crossing Baker Street. He asked drivers in the area to pay attention to flashing lights and pedestrians crossing the road.
"We appreciate people's patience," Van Tassel said.
What other changes will residents notice as the project progresses?
The project involved moving the main entrance of the Wood County Courthouse to the area where Avon Street used to be. According to Nordlund, the access road will not be removed until the project is completed.
Wallenstein said the county is hiring a second facilities manager. The district knew it would need a second administrator when the large jail project was completed. This was necessary because Van Tassel's time was spent communicating between the contractor and the prison project site.
The new prison will require eight more correctional officers, Baker said. The county hired four new officers this year and another four for training next year when the new jail is ready.
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Contact Karen Madden at 715-345-2245 or by email at kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook: www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
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This article first appeared in the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: What will happen to the Wood County Jail project in 6 months?
