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TOOELE, Utah (AP) - A new jail in Tooele County is set for a January opening.
The Tooele Transcript Bulletin reports building inspectors signed off on the newly completed 72,000-square foot facility last week.
County officials say the $25 million detention center is the largest capital project ever undertaken.
The jail can house up to 264 inmates. That's more than twice the size of the current jail's capacity.
Sheriff Frank Park says the facility was badly needed.
Park says the old jail had just 104 beds and was often overcrowded. He says some inmates were sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
Construction of the jail took about nine months.
Park says the current jail population won't fill the new facility so some beds will be used for state and federal prisoners.
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