![]() Plus, the Department of Corrections will need to train all of its staff on how to operate the new facilities, a process that’s already ongoing. Inmates, however, aren’t scheduled to move in until June, leaving several months to allow for testing and refinement of the prison’s complex electronic security system. When will it open, and when will the old prison be demolished?Ĭonstruction of the new prison is slated to be finished by the end of February, according to Ambre, though he notes construction deadlines can change. Or the Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison could expand.ģ. As Utah’s population continues to boom, its incarcerated population inevitably will, too. Ambre said state officials can consider several options for when the facility overflows, including room for expansion on the new Salt Lake City site (though that would cost more money). However, capacity is a concern long term. So even when the new prison opens, it won’t be full, he said. Though the current prison in Draper has the capability to house about 4,300 inmates, Michael Ambre, assistant director of Utah’s Division of Facilities Construction and Management, said it currently houses about 2,500 inmates. Project managers pushed pause on the project in the middle of construction to redesign the facility to save money amid rising costs. Though originally planned to house 4,000 inmates, the new Utah State Prison was downsized to 3,600 beds. Outside, about 10 miles of razor wire top the secure perimeter’s chain-link fence. Uniquely, the prison will have facilities for both men and women within its footprint, though women’s facilities are segregated from the men’s by a secure outdoor perimeter. There are also buildings for administrative work, classrooms and gymnasiums, chapels, culinary, receiving and orientation where inmates meet with caseworkers, visitation, vocational programs and screening, and warehouses to receive supplies. ![]() The campus is made up of over a dozen buildings, designed based on varying levels of security, from medical and mental health, to general population, to maximum security. To develop that remote, mosquito-riddled area, state and Salt Lake City officials spent over $90 million to build 7 miles of roads and 13 miles of power, sewer and water lines. The prison site is located about 9 miles west of the Salt Lake City International Airport - so far north of I-80 it’s barely visible to drivers despite its size. It’s footprint is 1.3 million square feet, spanning about 170 acres, inside and outside the area’s secure perimeter.
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