COVINGTON, Ky. -- Kenton County and Covington officials will have a lot to celebrate Friday morning, when they finally break ground on a new $41 million county jail.
It's a jail that's taken over 20 years to agree on a site and start constructing.
Up on Decker Crane Lane over Kentucky 17 and Madison Pike, a sign announcing the new jail is already up alongside a white tent. It's all in preparation for a 10:30 a.m. groundbreaking and celebration of the building of the new Kenton County Detention Center.
This new building will replace the old jail inside the Kenton County Building in downtown Covington. The new jail will house 200 more inmates than the current jail facility, for a total of about 600.
The low-slung one story facility is expected to cost Kenton County about $41 million and will open next fall.
Over recent years, a site for the jail has been highly controversial with communities like Independence holding demonstrations and protests saying residents there didn't want a jail near their homes or schools.
Kenton County residents won't have to worry about living or working near a jail with this site. It's up on a hill and isolated enough that it can't been seen from Kentucky 17. In fact, you can't even see it from the Kenton County Animal Shelter, which is it's nearest landmark.
The groundbreaking ceremonies start at 10:30 a.m. Friday, and we'll have it covered for you, here at wcpo.com and on 9News.
