ELMORE COUNTY, Ala. — Construction on Alabama’s new $1.25 billion Governor Kay Ivey Correctional Complex, a 4,000-bed facility in Elmore County, has been delayed by several months, moving its completion date from May 2026 to October 2026. The Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) confirmed the delay, citing recent revisions in the project schedule agreed upon by the state and the contractor.
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According to Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, chairman of the Alabama Senate’s General Fund Committee, the adjustment will not cost taxpayers additional money. “The state would bear no additional costs, and the builder would pay a penalty because of the delay,” Albritton said, estimating the penalty at roughly $9 million.
The massive Elmore County project — Alabama’s first new state prison in more than 30 years — is intended to address chronic overcrowding, aging facilities, and understaffing across the state’s correctional system. The complex will include modern healthcare and mental health facilities, classrooms for vocational training, and enhanced housing designed to improve safety for both staff and inmates.
Gov. Kay Ivey, who has led the state’s prison reform effort, has called the two new 4,000-bed facilities “a critical step toward fixing Alabama’s long-standing correctional crisis.” The governor and state Republican leaders argue the investments will lead to safer, more rehabilitative environments while reducing federal scrutiny.
Supporters emphasize that the new prisons will improve conditions, expand inmate healthcare, and reduce staff injuries. “The new facilities are about more than concrete and steel—they’re about safety, rehabilitation, and responsibility,” Ivey said in earlier remarks promoting the project.
The Elmore facility, now about 75% complete as of September 2025, will be followed by a second 4,000-bed men’s prison in Escambia County, next to the nearly century-old Fountain Correctional Facility. The state is accepting contractor qualifications for that project through November 26, and construction could begin by summer 2026.
Albritton said the Legislature has already set aside approximately $600 million for the Escambia County prison. Additional funding could come from new state-issued bonds, after lawmakers earlier this year voted to raise the state’s bonding authority from $509 million to $674 million.
The Elmore project’s cost has climbed sharply from its initial $623 million estimate to $1.25 billion, driven by inflation, higher material costs, and expanded design requirements. The project is funded through a mix of American Rescue Plan Act funds ($400 million), $154 million from the state’s General Fund, and state-issued bonds worth up to $785 million.
The U.S. Department of Justice has an ongoing lawsuit against the Alabama Department of Corrections, alleging unconstitutional levels of violence and neglect in men’s prisons. That pressure, combined with public attention from the HBO Max documentary “The Alabama Solution,” has intensified calls for reform. The documentary, referencing Ivey’s statements, underscores the governor’s insistence that “the state intends to fix its prisons and not rely on federal intervention.”
Faith leaders and inmate advocates continue to raise concerns about prison conditions. A Montgomery pastor active in prison ministry told legislators that many incarcerated men are “traumatized by a culture of drugs, extortion, rape, and despair.” Family members have echoed those accounts at public hearings, calling for transparency and improved oversight.
ADOC Commissioner John Hamm told lawmakers in October that while serious challenges remain, the department has made progress. In 2023, correctional officer pay was significantly increased, helping to reduce a severe staffing shortage. Hamm said ADOC is also intensifying efforts to curb contraband, noting recent arrests of staff members involved in smuggling.
The Elmore facility’s design, led by Goodwyn Mills Cawood, is reportedly 65% complete for the Escambia counterpart. State officials have directed the design to mirror the Elmore layout to streamline construction and maintenance. The request for qualifications emphasizes that “time is of the essence” and that the project should break ground as early as next summer.
Despite the delay, Albritton said the overall effort remains on solid footing. “I don’t think most people ever thought that we would have, A, stuck with this like we have, or B, have gotten as far down the road to completion as we ever have,” he said.
He added that progress has been steady despite challenges: “Given the COVID, given the inflation, given the mistakes that were made and all the other obstacles, I think we’ve come along fairly well.”
Once completed, the Governor Kay Ivey Correctional Complex will be Alabama’s largest correctional facility, doubling the capacity of the existing Limestone County prison and serving as the centerpiece of a broader strategy to modernize the state’s corrections system for decades to come.
Originally reported by Mike Cason in AL. Com.
