Washington County jail addition focuses on health and safety improvements

Construction on the addition to the Washington County Detention Center is 60 percent complete, and leaders said the growth is improving public safety.

By: Lora Castleman
5 News

Construction on the addition to the Washington County Detention Center is 60 percent complete, and leaders said the growth is improving public safety.

It’s been called the Washington County Mitigation Project and it’s not so much an expansion of the jail but growth — allowing for safe areas for the sick and more room for the in-jail medical team to operate.

“This will be next to what was formerly our minimum-security work release, and this building will mirror that a lot," Washington County Judge Patrick Deakins said.

It’s been a project a couple of years in the making — adding on to the jail to help with overcrowding and a space for those who fall ill. It’s dubbed the COVID Mitigation Project due to COVID relief money funding the addition.

“There was no Washington County tax money used in this project. This was grant money from the federal government," Deakins explained.

The idea to grow came from the procedures the jail developed during the COVID pandemic, and some procedures they still have in place.

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