ROXANA, Ky. — A new federal prison will be built in Letcher County.

U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., announced the decision Monday after Colette Peters, Bureau of Prisons director, published her official Record of Decision.

According to a release from Rogers, the medium-security facility and camp will be built in Roxana, which is located in eastern Kentucky.

“I’m thrilled that the many years of hard work by local leaders in Letcher County have paid off. They have improved broadband and strengthened local infrastructure, in effort to show the BOP that they were committed to supporting a new prison and the hundreds of jobs it will bring to the region,” said Rogers.

According to the Record of Decision, the BOP will get approximately 500 acres of land in Roxana to build the new prison. It is expected to hold 1,408 inmates.

The BOP says it is managing a “growing number of aged and obsolete federal correctional facilities, which are no longer cost-effective or sustainable to operate and maintain.”
 
In August, Rogers and the Letcher County Planning Commission hosted Peters and her staff for a meeting which also included leaders from seven surrounding counties, to talk about ongoing economic development and to prepare for the prison.
  
“We have worked for nearly 20 years to bring these much-needed jobs to Letcher County. Regardless of the decision, our county has benefitted from all the improvements that have been made to prepare for this prison. I can’t thank Congressman Rogers enough for believing in us and being our champion along the way,” said Elwood Cornett, cofounder of the Letcher County Planning Commission.
 
Rogers, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, secured more than $500 million for construction of the Letcher County Federal Correctional Institution and Federal Prison Camp.

It is estimated it will take a year to design the facility and get property acquisitions before construction can begin in Roxana.