The board in charge of the state prison system received an update this month on what will be a record 360 million dollars of construction projects during the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years.
In the Brazos Valley, facilities director Ron Hudson brought up the Luther prison in Grimes County being on the 31 million dollar list for getting air conditioned cells. Statewide, when completed there will be air conditioning for 62 thousand inmates at 45 units.
The Luther Unit was also mentioned where guards are patrolling the perimeter of the prison will be replaced with fences using a microwave intrusion detection system. Hudson says that allows personnel savings to be applied to corrections officers stationed inside prisons.
Hudson said since September first, the prison system has had 386 construction projects totaling 77 million dollars. That compares with 45 milliion dollars spent on about 11 hundred projects during the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years.