Robbinsville – Architectural and engineering firms will be invited to show their interest and qualifications in the construction of a central justice center off West Fort Road, as county staff looks for funding for the project – which could cost upward of $23 million.
The center will house courtrooms, the county jail and the Sheriff’s Department, and results from a court order due to the deteriorating condition of the Graham County Courthouse in downtown Robbinsville.
The county looks to secure a $5 million grant for the project and local state legislators are supporting an additional $30 million in state funds. County Manager Jason Marino briefed county commissioners on Friday that the project cost ranges from $15 million to $23 million.
The jail, which has eight beds, regularly exceeds that limit and had 23 inmates by late last week. Sheriff Jerry Crisp told the Board of Commissioners on Friday that the
state has been demanding that Graham County reduce its jail population to the number of available beds.
The county has had difficulty finding room at other county jails in the state due to overcrowding and outsourcing of jail capacity for federal inmates, which reimburse those counties at higher rates than they would get from neighboring counties.
Marino updated the Graham County Board of Commissioners about the justice center and other major projects at the board’s meeting May 19.
Other projects
* Moose Branch Subdivision: The 13-lot subdivision off Moose Branch Road is nearly ready for the first houses to be built. The Graham County Rural Development Authority project has been named Azalea Gardens and is the first affordable housing project in the area since the 1970s, when the West Fort Hill Road area was developed. Robbinsville High School carpentry students will be building the first house, with a groundbreaking scheduled for Oct. 26.
* Highway projects: Right-of-way acquisition is in progress for a portion of the Corridor K project that will improve roadway from U.S. 129 to N.C. 28 at Stecoah, with bids for the project being opened on Oct. 18. Another project to improve roadway from West Buffalo Creek to N.C. 143 Business is also undergoing right-of-way acquisition, with bids to be opened in August 2024. Four bridges are targeted for replacement, including N.C. Hwy. 28 over Little Tennessee River, Five Point Road over Tallulah Creek, Lower Mill Creek Road bridge over Mill Creek, and Old Highway 129 over Cheoah River.