DEER LODGE — Despite all the buildings at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, there’s still not enough room for the more than 1,500 inmates housed here, but thanks to a lot of funding from the state Legislature, the facility is going to get a little bit more elbow room.

“One, two three…,” Gov. Greg Gianforte counted before shoveling dirt at the Montana State Prison on Tuesday.

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With the ceremonial tossing of the dirt, Gianforte introduced a $156,000,000 project to build new units to house prisoners at the Deer Lodge facility. This was good news for a prison that’s been dealing with overcrowding.

“This is an exciting day. This has actually been talked about probably eight to 10 years ago. And, now, seeing where we’re at today, breaking ground for this facility is very, very important,” said Prison Warden Jim Salmonsen.

The Governor signed House Bill 817, carried by Anaconda Representative John Fitzpatrick, that will make $211 million in infrastructure improvements at the prison and replace three of the four low-security housing units with larger, more efficient facilities.

“Let’s face it, we have a capacity problem. There’s too much pressure on our county detention centers, so these three new buildings, plus the investment in 500 additional beds coming out of the 2025 session, we’re expanding the capacity to make sure our communities are safe,” said Gianforte.

The new facilities, which will add 117 new beds to the prison, are expected to be completed in just over two years.