Hamblen County Jail Bids Opened

ids were opened yesterday for the new Hamblen County Jail. This is the second time that bids have been opened for that project. Bids were originally opened in April, but the bids were too high, so the county made some designs to the plans for the new jail to lower the cost of the project. However, when bids were opened yesterday, county officials were dissappointed that the amount of those bids actually went UP not down. Bids showed a cost of 4% more than in April. One of the major reasons why is the cost of materials is skyrocketing…especially the cost of steel.

The lowest bid came in at just over 86 and half million dollars from Blaine Construction Corporation in Knoxville. That amount did not include finishing the third floor of the jail, which would raise the cost to over 92 million. County Mayor Bill Brittain stated he did not see any good that could come of delaying the project, but that changes could be made that could lower the cost, but the building would not be able to serve the county for the next 50 years as planned. The Hamblen County Commission will discuss the situation with the new jail at their next meeting coming up on Thursday, October 21st.