Crook County jail construction hits snag

6/19/2017 (Permalink)

Engineers must redesign the foundation of the new Crook County jail before construction can begin because of softer-than-expected soil found at the construction site in downtown Prineville.

The Crook County Sheriff’s Office is shifting construction designs from a two-story facility to a one-story facility. However, the jail will be finished in time for its scheduled opening in December 2018.

Contractors became aware of the issue at the beginning of the year, after conducting a geological study to see if the ground could withstand the weight of the building. Typically, large rock and sediment mixtures harden the ground so it can withstand the weight of a large building, but the ground underneath the new jail location is a mixture of sand and sediment.

The ground needs to be reinforced with geopiers to firm up the foundation, a project costing between $400,000-$500,000. Geopiers are drilled holes in the ground filled with concrete, used to reinforce a shallow foundation. The Crook County Sheriff’s Office plans to remain under the $17 million budget and sought out other cost-saving adjustments to pay for the fix