MADISON HEIGHTS - The Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority hosted a ground-breaking ceremony on Friday for its Amherst County Adult Detention Center.

The 170,000-square-foot facility will consist of 380 beds, which be operated by the Authority and will replace jails in Appomattox and Amherst.

Both Appomattox County and Amherst County are jointly financing the $51 million regional jail, along with the BRRJA's Moneta facility.

Construction is expected to be completed in December 2011.

Several Appomattox dignitaries attended the groundbreaking, including Appomattox Sheriff Wilson Staples, Appomattox Deputy Barry Letterman, Appomattox County Administrator Aileen Ferguson, Appomattox County Supervisor Gary Tanner and Appomattox's Bobby Mitchell, who serves on the Virginia Department of Corrections Board.

Tanner praised the efforts of Appomattox and Amherst to share the costs of the regional jail, which allowed the Virginia General Assembly to cover 50 percent of the construction costs.

"There will be a tax savings to Appomattox citizens," Supervisor Tanner said. "Today represents a journey."

That journey, according to figures, will cost Appomattox County $499,000 annual in operating costs. That's about $50,000 a year less than it would cost Appomattox to renovate and operate its existing jail.

The new regional jail will be located on 23.5 acres near the Route 210 connector off the U.S. 29 Bypass.

The BRRJA plans to hire an additional 100 employees upon completion of the construction.

The counties of Appomattox and Amherst joined the BRRJA in July 2007.

After a Planning Study and Community-based Corrections Plan was submitted, the Commonwealth of Virginia agreed to fund 50 percent of the eligible construction costs.

The new facility was designed by Moseley Architects of Richmond, with assistance from Hurt & Proffitt Engineering of Lynchburg,

The construction bid was won by HITT Contacting of Fairfax, which submitted a base bid of $33.8 million. Consulting fees, testing and environmental fees, inspections and other costs pushed the total to $51 million.

The Amherst facility will be built to conform to Department of Corrections standards and will range from one to three stories, including a basement.

It will consist of a structural steel frame with masonry and concrete load bearing interior and exterior walls, with a brick and block veneer.

The jail will house minimum, medium and maximum security male and female inmates.

The population will consist primarily of pretrial inmates from Appomattox and Amherst, as well as sentenced inmates from member jurisdictions.

The jail will also have a kitchen, medical and laundry areas, as well as program and recreation space for the inmates.

The BRRJA currently operates detention facilities in Bedford County, Bedford City, Campbell County, Halifax and the City of Lynchburg.

In January 2007, the Appomattox County Board of Supervisors voted to proceed with the regional jail effort.

The supervisors' vote was based largely on an overcrowding issue currently facing the Appomattox jail.

According to a study, Appomattox's jail was built to house 12 inmates. In 2007, the jail typically housed in the mid-to-upper 30s, and that total is estimated to increase to 69 inmates in the next 15 years.

According to the data, Appomattox could expand the current jail to 69 beds with a construction cost of $11.1 million - or $787,000 annually for debt service.

In addition, the current jail would then face an annual operating cost of $549,000.

The sum of the debt service and the operating cost adds up to $1.3 million annually.

On the other hand, Appomattox could invest in the Amherst regional jail, which they did.

According to data, the regional jail would cost Appomattox $499,000 annually in operating cost.

And since Appomattox is already spending $222,000 subsidizing the current jail, the increase would only be $277,000 from what it is already paying.

In addition, the regional jail would require Appomattox to contribute to three reserve funds currently funding the BRRJA and being financed by the other localities.

The reserve funds would represent a one-time total of $343,000 and allow Appomattox to buy back into the regional jail concept that it rejected in the early 1990s.

As part of the proposed service agreement, the BRRJA would agree to hire all existing employees with the Appomattox County Sheriff's Department.

The Blue Ridge Regional Jail Authority would own the jail. Each locality within the authority would be entitled to one vote. In other words, Appomattox would have one vote, along with Campbell County, Halifax County, the City of Bedford and the City of Lynchburg.

Appomattox County began exploring the regional jail concept in 2003, when Amherst, Nelson and Appomattox attempted a regional project. The project was derailed, however, when Nelson opted to go with Albemarle County on a regional jail project in Spring 2005.

With only two localities - Appomattox and Amherst - a third was needed in order to qualify for 50 percent cost reductions from the state. That's when the BRRJA stepped in.

In June 2006, the General Assembly approved the BRRJA as a third partner with Appomattox and Amherst.

Once completed, the new regional jail in Amherst is projected to house 42 percent Amherst inmates, 14 percent Appomattox inmates, and 44 percent BRRJA inmates.