Dane County Jail project now estimated to cost $179M

The proposed project to build a new Dane County Jail has a new, higher price tag for the county board to consider, according to a report from the Wisconsin State Journal.

The latest estimate — $179 million — is $3 million higher than 10 months ago for the proposed six-story, 825-bed jail. If approved, that would leave the county $13 million short of the already $166 million in borrowing approved for the project so far.

On April 10, a joint meeting of the county board’s Personnel and Finance and Public Protection and Judiciary committees will consider a measure that would reallocate an unused $13.5 million in borrowing from other projects to close the funding gap for the jail.