Here’s the company that will build an expansion at the Bibb County Jail

Macon-Bibb County’s plans to expand the Bibb County jail are moving forward after the Macon-Bibb County Board of Commissioners approved an architect and released details on the project Tuesday night.

During a special called session, the commissioners authorized Macon-Bibb County Lester Miller to sign a contract with Jericho Design Group, an Atlanta-based firm specializing in institutional facilities that will handle the design of the expansion.

According to a presentation by Clay Murphey, Special Local Option Sales Tax manager with Macon-Bibb County, preliminary plans project the expansion will add about 150 beds to the jail, improve the infirmary area, create more space for maximum-security inmates and add more security control areas.

Around 24 of the additional cells will be designed especially for inmates with mental health issues, which Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said will help manage people incarcerated at the jail and keep them safe.

“I think we are (taking) a significant step in the right direction because we will have cells that will help those that are chronically ill and chronically mentally ill, to which that population is ever-growing in jail,” Davis said.

Preliminary plans estimate the expansion will cost between $28 and $31 million to construct and take 14 to 16 months. Murphey said a groundbreaking would likely take place during the first half of 2026.

The Bibb County Jail has been under fire over the last few months for issues ranging from overcrowding to health and safety concerns to deaths of people held at tha facility. The issues drew protests from local residents and organizations and even attention from U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, who called for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate conditions at the jail.

Davis previously advocated for building a new jail, but pivoted his stance in May and instead suggested expanding the existing jail. Davis said expanding the jail was more realistic and offered a quicker solution than trying to construct an entirely new facility.

At Tuesday’s commission meeting, Davis and Murphey said the expansion will solve some of the jail’s most pressing issues until a new facility can be constructed.

“This is a temporary fix, it needs a long term solution,” Murphey said. “The idea was, ‘What can we do to this expansion that allows use before a potential new jail?’”