CHARLESTON -- Work began on the Southeast Missouri Correctional Center this month. Gov. Mel Carnahan and some 200 local and state officials and area residents were on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony Feb. 11 at the prison site.

Carnahan called the prison the state's "newest partnership" in its fight against crime. That partnership was made possible by a strong proposal, bipartisan political support and an economic need evidenced by the community's dwindling population and high unemployment, he said.

"The new Southeast Correctional Center will give us some of this welcome space we need so we can continue our efforts to secure the safety of our communities," said Carnahan. "With this groundbreaking we hope to ensure the economic prosperity of the Charleston community for years to come."

Carnahan and others applauded the work of Betty Hearnes, a former state legislator and president of the Mississippi County Industrial Development Association. Hearnes, who served on the Joint Committee on Corrections during her days as a legislator, led the effort to win a bid to bring the prison to Charleston in 1997.

"I feel great," said Hearnes at the groundbreaking. "I don't know if you're happy, but I sure am to be here today."

River City Construction of Peoria, Ill., received a $70,933,000 contract to build the 1,596-bed, maximum-security facility for male inmates. The project will take 18 months to complete and should be housing prisoners by fall 2001.

In all, 10 buildings will be built on the 120-acre site just inside of Charleston city limits. Six buildings will be used for housing prisoners with additional buildings for administrative offices and administrative segregation housing. The remaining building will house medical and mental health-care space, laundry and central food-service departments, and academic and vocational classrooms.

Support for the prison is great among Charleston-area residents, most of whom are hoping the prison will invigorate Mississippi County's sagging economy.

"I think we have yet to see the effects of the prison. There lies the hope of Charleston," said former Gov. Warren Hearnes, a longtime Charleston resident.

His wife is equally optimistic. Betty Hearnes said the prison is expected to provide some 445 jobs and a $9.1 million annual payroll, a welcome site in a town of 5,000 that has an unemployment rate of nearly 10 percent.

The prison is expected to spur growth in service-related industries in Charleston, and city manager David Brewer said developers already are upgrading existing housing and planning new housing to attract new residents.

The city also is revamping much of its infrastructure in preparation for the prison's opening. Brewer said he and other city officials are studying other communities that have recently opened prisons so that certain mistakes are not repeated.

"I think the one-year delay we had was unfortunate, but it really helped us get ready for this thing," Brewer said. "We've got new housing being built, new businesses coming in, and it's looking good for us so far."

Charleston was one of two communities that successfully bid for one of two state prisons in 1997. Licking, a town of about 1,400 in south-central Missouri, is the other site.

Development of the Licking and Charleston prison sites fell behind early in the planning phases. But the Charleston site, originally scheduled for completion next month, was delayed even further in 1998 when bids came in $12 million over the $73 million anticipated budget.

The prison design was scaled back, and the state rebid the project with a new estimate of $65.3 million. Bids again came in over budget, and River City Construction eventually received a contract to build the prison.

PRISON FAST FACTS

* The Southeast Missouri Correctional Center will be built just inside the Charleston city limits.

* There will be 10 buildings on the 120-acre site.

* River City Construction of Peoria, Ill., received a $70,933,000 contract to build the 1,596-bed, maximum-security facility for male inmates.

* The project will take 18 months to complete and should be housing prisoners by fall 2001.