Ivey pushes back as speaker seeks investigation of 1 prison’s construction, halt of another
Speaker says Ivey’s ‘handling...is flat out wrong’ while governor says she won’t ‘kick can down the road’
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Gov. Kay Ivey is reacting to public concerns made by Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, Thursday in which he called for an investigation into the construction of the Kay Ivey Correctional Complex and for a pause on the construction of a second facility in Escambia County.
“I think the world of Governor [Kay] Ivey, but her administration’s handling of the construction of Alabama’s two new men’s prisons is flat out wrong,” Ledbetter said ahead of an Alabama Corrections Institution Finance Authority meeting, or ACIFA, on Thursday.
That meeting ended with the ACIFA voting 6-1 to officially funding a new prison in Escambia County.
Ledbetter said he has concerns with moving forward on construction of a state prison for men there, as well the status of the prison in Elmore County named for Ivey.
Gov. Ivey ‘refuses to kick the can down the road.’
Following Ledbetter’s remarks, WSFA 12 News reached out to Ivey’s office for reaction, which was provided shortly before 5 p.m.
“Today’s action gives the green light for building construction on the Escambia facility to go forward,” the governor said. “This major, positive step enhances the state’s capabilities and allows us to better manage the violent individuals that are sentenced to the care of Corrections.”
The governor, who is in the final months of her 10-years as the state’s chief executive, said she’s been “committed and dually focused on protecting taxpayer dollars while moving forward with these critical and necessary public safety projects,” and added that “we have been able to save the money necessary to make these facilities a reality in a fiscally responsible way.”
Concerns over state’s Elmore County prison facility
During a July 20 meeting, Ledbetter said he met with members of Ivey’s staff, as well as Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Greg Lovelace, to get an update on the construction of the Kay Ivey Correctional Complex.
He said they were “disappointed, but ultimately unsurprised to learn” that the construction completion date was pushed back from Oct. 2026 to “sometime between March and May 2027.”
Construction progress
On Oct. 16, the Alabama Department of Corrections sent out a media statement saying that the facility was more than 85% complete.
However, they said the contractor, Montgomery-based Caddell Construction, “failed to timely meet the contractual Final Completion Deadline of October 15, 2026.”
The statement from the ADOC went on to say, “the schedule, timing of completion, and cost implications will continue to be assessed.”
Escambia County facility concerns
In the letter, Ledbetter again referenced the July 20 meeting, saying that the delayed completion of the Kay Ivey Correctional Complex made him concerned about proceeding with construction of the Escambia County facility.
“At the core of my concerns is the fundamental irresponsibility of seeking additional taxpayer-backed debt to finance a second prison while the first facility is $635 [million]+ over budget and one year behind schedule,” he wrote.
Ledbetter also alleged that Gov. Ivey has “ignored every request from the Legislature to press pause on the construction of the Escambia County facility,” and wrote that he’s asking the governor to stop construction on the facility.
Rising price tag and calls for an investigation
During an Oct. 6 meeting of the ACIFA, Ledbetter said they voted to issue more than $190 million in bonds to fund the Escambia County facility, with the project expected to cost close to $1 billion.
He wrote that the two new prisons would now cost “well over $2 [billion], when the initial projection was $1.3 [billion].”
“Committing taxpayers to another major financial obligation under these circumstances, without first addressing the cost overruns, delays, and apparent failures in project management, is an unacceptable risk to public funds and a failure of fiscal accountability,” Ledbetter said.
The speaker is calling for a full investigation into the construction of the Kay Ivey Correctional Complex, saying “taxpayers deserve to know what has transpired during the failed construction of the first facility.”
“When I took office in April of 2017, the challenges plaguing Alabama’s prison system had been neglected for far too long, and I have spent the entirety of my Administration working towards actual Alabama solutions to this decades old Alabama problem,” Ivey stated. “I also committed to the people of Alabama I would run an open, honest and transparent Administration, and we have not wavered from that.”
Requests for comment have been left with the Alabama Department of Corrections.
Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!
Copyright 2026 WSFA. All rights reserved.