Officials break ground on expansion of Little Sandy Correctional Facility

ELLIOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WSAZ) - A project in Elliott County, decades in the making, is finally coming to fruition.

Officials broke ground on phase two of the expansion of the Little Sandy Correctional Complex.

Following the $114 million groundbreaking, the finished product will make it the second largest prison in the commonwealth.

“Of course, phase one ground was broken in 2002, so to be here breaking ground on phase two, not only for the Department of Corrections is it a big deal, it’s a big deal for the economy,” said Rocky Adkins, senior advisor to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear.

While the plan was always to double the size of the correctional facility, the development is just coming later than they expected.

“We thought five to six years we’d have phase two under construction and that didn’t happen,” said Adkins. “We continued the effort in this community, we continued it with governors that were elected.”

Larry Chandler was a warden at Little Sandy for decades before retiring.

“I started locking people up in 1978, so this is kind of the cap of my career,” Chandler said. “Being on the original design team for phase one and getting to come back for phase two, this is a gift for me.”

A bigger facility means a boost to economy, nearly doubling staff with more than a 100 new jobs.

“When phase two is completed, there will be some 450 people working here which is a tremendous economic impact,” Adkins said.

The development will also boost the facility’s efficiency.

“For the Department of Corrections, it’ll give some relief to the county jail and some of our older institutions,” Chandler said. “We’ll be sending some inmates here which will increase the population.”

The construction project will add 832 beds to make a total of 1,882.

Security and programming positions are among the types of jobs that will be available.

We’re still waiting to find out when exactly the expansion will be finished.

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