OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. (WDRB) -- Oldham County’s new $23 million jail was set to open in December, but construction delays have put the project about a month behind schedule.  

"We are getting closer,” Oldham County Jailer Mike Simpson said. "We wanted to make sure that we were building this facility for the future.” 

Building that jail of the future takes time, and crews are putting the finishing touches on the new state-of-the-art facility. The jail is equipped with some of the newest technology on the market and will hold 332 inmates to start.  

But every day of construction counts as Kentucky is facing a serious overcrowding issues in prisons and county jails. Bed space is at a premium across the board. 

"From every level,” Simpson said. “From the federal, to the state, to the county."

Oldham County's new jail will help house state and federal inmates. The county has signed a new contract to work with U.S. Customs and Immigration officials. Jailer Mike Simpson said other counties are also leaning on the new facility for help. 

"We've already been approached by several other counties,” he said. 

Several counties are wondering if the jail will have enough space to take inmates off their hands and reduce overcrowding. Simpson said there will be, because he designed the facility with room to grow. 

"All of our support areas actually are being put in place for 500 beds,” Simpson said.

That means kitchens, laundry rooms and programming rooms are all designed to handle larger numbers of inmates. Several rooms have bathrooms and showers in case they ever need to convert into additional housing units for inmates. 

Simpson said he expects an inmate growth rate of 20 percent per month in 2018. If those estimates hold, his new jail could be housing 400 inmates by the end of next year. 

Right now, that’s long way off from becoming a reality. There's still more work to be done before the doors can open. 

On Tuesday crews were working on the inside and outside of the building. Contractors were installing insulation, working on the façade of the building and testing technology in several areas. Work release inmates were also doing a great deal of cleaning. 

"We literally then have to equip the building with everything from mattresses to furniture to jump suits,” Simpson said. 

Once completed, jail employees will learn the ins and outs of the huge facility. Simpson said he will bring his staff in to train as soon as he can. He will need to increase his staff in the new facility. Simpson said he started hiring in March and said he’s almost finished staffing. 

Once those final details are taken care of, the Department of Corrections will do an inspection and give give the final seal of approval. 

"We're hoping that the contractor will turn the building over in two to three weeks, with a goal of possibly moving some inmates in after the first of the year,” Simpson said. 

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