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County will add to jail-court tunnel Addition to Medford's underground passage will protect the identity of juveniles and speed delivery of meals and laundry from the jail By JILL BRISKEY A new tunnel will protect the identity of offenders and provide a fast route for meal delivery after the new Jackson County Juvenile Service Center is built. But digging the 350-foot passageway under 10th Street and connecting it to an existing tunnel that runs between the Jackson County Jail and the Justice Building could get tricky, admitted Rick Swanson of the local architectural design firm Marquess and Associates Inc. The project could also force construction crews to shut down part of 10th Street for construction, Swanson added. "It's a hassle but it can be managed," he said. "There's still lots of things to work out." Swanson said to build the tunnel, crews must work around a sewer and storm drain, relocate gas and water lines and contend with a water table that sits just a few feet under the surface. However, Swanson is confident that the tunnel - which will cost an estimated $500,000 - will be completed, along with the juvenile center, by 2004. An agreement on the excavation has already been reached with the city of Medford, he said. Jackson County plans to build a two-story, 50,405-square-foot juvenile service center on 10th Street between King and Laurel streets. The entire project will cost an estimated $16.5 million, and will be financed with a bond that county voters passed in November. The new juvenile service center will include two detention pods, classrooms, courtrooms, a shelter for nonoffenders, gymnasium, office space and an intake center. However, Deputy County Administrator Dave Kanner said the facility won't have its own kitchen. All meals will be prepared at the jail and delivered through the tunnel. Lt. Jim Warren, the jail's commander, said that bedding from the juvenile center will also be washed at the jail. Before the new tunnel can be used, Warren said a "traffic control" system must be in place. Adult and juvenile inmates cannot come into contact with each other, Warren added. A tunnel connecting the jail and courthouse was built in 1981, and an estimated 8,000 prisoners walk through the underground passageway every year. "It keeps (prisoners) from having contact with people passing contraband or who might help them try to escape," Warren said. "It's a common practice. It's a secure practice." The underground passage can also be used if anyone in the courthouse is threatened, Warren said. The current tunnel is made of concrete reinforced with re-bar. The new tunnel will be built in the same manner and feature ventilation, lighting and security cameras similar to those used in the existing passageway. Kanner said an underground tunnel is necessary to prevent the public from seeing juvenile offenders. Although the new service center will have a courtroom, juveniles charged with Measure 11 crimes must be taken to the courthouse. The county is waiting for the results of a federal environmental assessment. Once the assessment is returned, more detailed plans for the facility will be drafted. The project is expected to go to bid this summer. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.