HENRY COUNTY, Ala. (WDHN) — The Henry County Jail is on the verge of a long-overdue makeover.

Originally, they wanted to build a whole new jail but it would cost about 20 million dollars to build.

The commission decided they would renovate the jail and the proposals came in at over $9 million, but after looking back over the plans changes were made and now the estimate stands at around $6 million.

$3 million of that will be paid with ARPA funds the county was given.

Commissioners hope the new jail will be a safer environment for the staff and inmates while creating areas to isolate people if the need arises.

“What we have now compared to what we this will be like night and day,” Henry County Commission Chairman, David Money said. “It will be better for the inmates, it will be safer, and we will have ways to isolate COVID patients like we had 2-3 years ago or patients who need some mental evaluation.”

Proposals for the new jail will not be voted on until April and then construction will not take place until the spring of 2025.