New Jail To Start Construction
Two years after a contentious rezoning, land for a new jail in Amherst County VA remains undisturbed — although that will start to change this spring.
Heavy machinery will move onto the 125-acre site on Virginia 210 near U.S. 29 in April, with the actual building construction slated to begin in late summer to early fall. The $50 million project will not be delayed in the state’s current funding crunch, said Chris Webb, the administrator for the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority. The project is currently funded without using state dollars, Webb said. That money will be paid back from the state at the end of the project — almost three years out, when officials hope that state revenues have improved …
The new jail will be built to house 325 to 400 inmates, replacing jails in Amherst County, Appomattox County and the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority facility in Moneta. Those three jails house about 220 inmates combined, which stay imprisoned for an average of 90 to 100 days … Amherst will account for about 42 percent of the beds in the new jail; Appomattox would take up about 14 percent of the beds, and the Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority will take up 44 percent. Each of the agencies will contribute a portion of the costs based on usage …
The Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority will run the new jail. It also operates jails in Lynchburg and Bedford as will as the counties of Bedford, Campbell and Halifax. The Amherst County Board of Supervisors rezoned the property for the jail in December 2006, amid protests from the property’s neighbors who expressed concerns over safety and property values.
Regional Jails, VA Amherst County, VA Appomattox County, VA Blue Ridge Regional