The Cumberland County Board of Freeholders has identified the replacement of the outdated and inefficient County jail as a critical need for the County. Freeholder Director Joseph Derella, in describing the importance of a new jail explained, “The current jail is functionally obsolete, very expensive to operate as well as maintain and has reached a point where building a new facility makes good financial sense.” On October 21, 2019 the County will break ground for the construction of a new jail located adjacent to South Woods State Prison on Burlington Road in Bridgeton. “The new jail will take advantage of state of the art technology to reduce operating costs while enhancing security for both staff and inmates”, added Derella.
The Cumberland County Improvement Authority will provide project and construction management services for the phased plan which will include demolition of the existing jail facility adjacent to the Cumberland County Courthouse and its ultimate replacement with an addition providing needed court related facilities, including a holding center. Deputy Freeholder Director Darlene Barber stated, “We will be partnering with the CCIA to take advantage of their demonstrated project management expertise to help us solve the challenge of addressing needed upgrades to both our court and jail facilities”. Increases in the number of criminal and family court cases and the need for associated support services have created crowded conditions in the County’s courthouse. “An addition to the courthouse will not only provide critically needed space to serve the public, but will allow us to address the outdated and expensive to operate HVAC system at the existing courthouse.
The new jail will share a state of the art power generation plant with South Woods resulting in substantial energy savings for the new County jail. “The power plant will provide electricity as well as hot and cold water for both heat and air conditioning at a fraction of the cost charged currently”, stated Derella. The new jail will have capacity for up to 352 inmates. “The jail will be constructed using cost saving pre-cast modular cells and is designed to maximize our ability to staff the facility efficiently while maintaining the highest level of security and safety,” added Barber.
The first phase of the project is the construction of the new jail and is projected to be completed during the spring of 2021.
From left to right: Mayor Albert Kelly, City of Bridgeton, Jerry Velazquez, President/CEO CCIA, Douglas Long, Solicitor CCIA, Assemblyman Matt Milam, Director Joseph Derella, Warden Richard Smith, Cumberland County Correctional Facility, Deputy Director Darlene Barber, Senator Bob Andrzejczak, Assemblyman Bruce Land, Freeholder George Castellini, Freeholder Jack Surrency, County Clerk Celeste Riley