CROSS COUNTY, Ark. — Cross County officials gathered Friday to break ground on a new multi-million-dollar detention center off Highway 1 in Wynne.
The facility will replace the current county jail.
With an initial estimated cost of nearly $14 million, the new state-of-the-art facility will be larger than the current jail and offer a safer environment for deputies, jailers and inmates.
“We’ve patched and patched and patched with our old jail, and it was time for us to move forward and try to resolve all of our issues,” Cross County judge Donnie Sanders said.
The county was faced with either fixing the old jail, which would have cost $10 million or more, or starting from scratch.
But after two years of the planning, the project is moving forward thanks to Cross County voters, who overwhelmingly passed a local sales tax increase in 2019.
“After the bids came in, we’re $3,640, 415 under budget,” Sanders said. “We’re really excited about that.”
Cross County’s chief law enforcement officer said the public’s support for the project cannot be understated, especially at a time when no one wants to see an increase in taxes.
“It was them believing in us, believing we’re going to do what’s right and try to move our community forward,” Sheriff David West said.
Ground and site work is scheduled to start within a week, depending on weather. Construction is expected to take about 18 months.
