Augusta asks state for help as corrections facility rebuild estimate rises to $22 million

Augusta and Richmond County officials met with members of the local state legislative delegation to request state assistance for major capital work at the Richmond County Correctional Institute (RCCI), including a potential new facility after engineering and design updates pushed the estimated cost to roughly $22 million.

The meeting, convened by Augusta city and county leadership with representatives from the state delegation, centered on the facility’s aging infrastructure, a 2017 assessment that identified at least $4,000,000 in needed electrical and plumbing work, and a more recent design estimate that nearly doubled earlier cost projections. Officials said the city secured $11,000,000 in SPLOST 8 funding after initially requesting $15,000,000 but that inflation and updated design scope have increased the total projected cost to about $22,000,000.

The issue matters to local and state officials because RCCI houses state-sentenced, male inmates under a contract with the Georgia Department of Corrections and provides a labor force that city departments rely on for maintenance and other services. Warden Joseph, who led RCCI’s presentation to the delegation, said the jail is an…