By Mike Saewitz
The Virginian-Pilot
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — For the past few days, massive trucks carrying concrete prison cells have been navigating the narrow rural roads of southern Chesapeake, drawing curiosity and bringing traffic to a halt.
Get used to it.
A $64 million, 400-cell military correctional facility is being built at the Norfolk Naval Support Activity , Northwest Annex, off Ballahack Road.
The pre constructed cells will likely be heading through southern Chesapeake for the rest of the year, said Tom Kreidel, public affairs officer for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic.
The medium-security prison will house Navy and Marine defendants who are either awaiting trial or have been sentenced to terms of five years or less, according to documents.
The prison will be completed by May 2011, Kreidel said. When it’s done, it will be more than 200,000 square feet. The whole project, including the required safety buffer, will be spread out on 25 acres.
The facility will take in prisoners that would have been housed previously at Camp LeJeune in North Carolina, the Marine Corps Base Brig in Quantico and the Norfolk Naval Brig at Naval Support Activity, he said.
The decision comes after the recommendation of the secretary of defense, according to documents. Many Department of Defense prisons were built in the 1960s and 1970s, and officials wanted to create newer and safer facilities.
A town hall meeting about the prison was held in September 2008, Kreidel said. But community members were still surprised to see the trucks and prison cells rumbling down Ballahack and into the annex this week.
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