Officials are ‘hopeful’ the super-expensive Indio jail might actually open next year

The gigantic Indio jail, that was supposed to open up two years ago, might actually start operating in early 2020.

The facility, which was estimated at $330 million but it now costing taxpayers at least $376 million, making it the most expensive project in the history of Riverside County, will eventually mean a 1,200-bed expansion of Riverside County’s Indio jail system.

As for that opening, here’s the latest, via Press Enterprise:

The next step, Field said, is to make sure all the jail’s systems are functional, including its security electronics. After that, there will be a 90-day transition during which the Sheriff’s Department will move in its staff as well as the first group of about 390 inmates, Field added.

 

To save money in the face of a long-standing budget crunch, county officials have planned to open the jail in phases, meaning not every cell will be filled when it opens.

 

As for when the jail will be up and running, Field deferred to the Sheriff’s Department. In an email, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Albert Martinez said officials are “hopeful” the jail will open by “early 2020.”

And while officials are hopeful for early 2020, I certainly wouldn’t bet any money on it…mostly because that kind of gambling is illegal and I don’t want to end up as one of the first people to stay there.