Coyote Ridge Expansion Ahead of Schedule and within Budget

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                      January 23, 2008

CONNELL – A major prison expansion at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center is expected to be completed later this year, two months ahead of schedule and with no construction cost overruns, DOC Secretary Eldon Vail said today.

The expansion will add 2,048 medium-security beds to the state prison system, making it easier to regulate the overall prison population and reduce the need to transfer some inmates out of state to serve their sentences.

“Keeping prison populations within a manageable size is essential to our goal of operating prisons that are safe for the public, our staff and offenders,” Vail said. “I am pleased with the efforts by the contractor and DOC staff to complete this important construction project sooner than anticipated, and for less money.”

DOC currently has approximately 1,200 inmates in out-of-state facilities as a means of managing prison population. Sending fewer out of state will make it easier for more inmate families to maintain contacts with their loved ones, an important factor in the offender’s eventual successful return to society.  

The new building at Coyote Ridge is being constructed next to an existing 600-bed minimum security facility. The design-builder on the project, Hunt/Lydig Joint Venture, projects completion by Oct. 31, 2008, two months ahead of the contracted completion date of Dec. 31.

The original design and construction budget for the expansion was $160 million, with another $24 million authorized by the Legislature for additional construction. DOC expects to stay within that budget through completion and does not anticipate a need to use contingency funds set aside in the total budget.

Costs for construction and future operations have been reduced, in part, by an innovative “hybrid” design plan for half of the new beds.

A hybrid unit is built to house offenders who fall between true minimum-custody and medium-custody security classifications. Differences in construction save approximately $3 million per housing unit compared to traditional medium-unit construction.  The simpler design uses less electronic technology, requires less preventative maintenance, and requires 12 fewer custody staff. This will save an expected $700,000 a year in salaries and benefits alone.

The Coyote Ridge expansion is currently the largest non-transportation public works project in Washington and largest prison construction project in the United States. It is also on track to be the first prison campus to receive at least a LEED silver rating, a designation given to environmentally sustainable construction projects.

 

 

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