State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) is not happy about the rising cost of the new prison being built in Elmore County.
Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner John Hamm gave an update this week on the construction of the specialized prison, saying it will now cost $973 million to build, which is up from $623 million when the contract was signed.
Orr discussed the issue Friday on WVNN’s “The Dale Jackson Show.”
“Well it’s extremely upsetting to see that kind of money being spent,” Orr said, “and you go back to the management of the project … I think there’s some serious trouble, problems with the current management team that’s managing it.”
He also pointed some of the blame toward President Joe Biden.
“Admittedly, price increases, everybody knows inflation,” he said. “I saw a number yesterday that since Joe Biden’s been in office inflation is up 17% and it ticked up this past month. So things are tough when it comes to constructing buildings and things, but the cost explosion that we have seen in the prison in Elmore has far exceeded that 17%.”
Orr wants Gov. Kay Ivey to step in and get better control of the construction process.
“I hope that the Executive Branch will really role up their sleeves and do what they got to do,” he said, “particularly if we’re looking at building a second prison with the same cast of characters. And that again is extremely concerning.”
When asked if there’s a chance they could cancel the project and start over, Orr said that won’t happen in this case.
“I think that the cake is baked as far as the Elmore County one, that’s the one right north of Montgomery,” he said. “Too late to pull the plug on the construction. Now the manager part of it, I think that can be changed and I certainly wish there would be a change immediately.”
The site is 300 acres inside the fence, will have 50-plus buildings on it and house 4,000 inmates. It’s scheduled to open in May 2026.
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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