Prison construction to start this spring

Governor Sarah Palin was present at the official signing ceremony on Tuesday for the Goose Creek Correctional Facility.  The correctional facility is called the largest new-building construction project in Alaska’s history.

The 450 thousand square foot building will sit on 330 acres near Port MacKenzie in the Mat Su Borough.

Borough Manager John Duffy estimates that the project will create about 600 construction jobs, as well as over 350 permanent prison jobs when the job is complete.

Corrections Commissioner, Joe Schmidt, spoke at the ceremony and estimates that Alaska’s current correctional system moves 38-thousand prisoners in and out of state each year.  He said the prison will support the concepts of public protection, recidivism reduction and reintegration.

Construction is due to begin this spring.  Neeser Construction is the selected contractor for the project.