Deer Lodge state prison expansion aims to address overcrowding

DEER LODGE, Mont. — A major expansion at Montana State Prison has moved forward, as the Department of Corrections looks to add close to a thousand prison beds to Montana by 2029.

This $300 million project, funded through the state legislature, marks the first prison project of this size in Montana in nearly half a century.

Ground broke on the project in April 2025, with 32 cells in the first of five new housing units now complete.

"We have an old facility," Montana State Prison warden Jim Salmonsen said. "Our low side was built in the early '70s, our high side in the mid-'70s. We don't have a lot of modern correctional technology. A lot of that is going to be built into this building here. It's going to benefit our staff and keep our inmates safe too."

As Salmonsen says, all cells will be double bunk bed, with amenities including a sink, mirror, and toilet, as well as additional electrical outlets not present in the cells constructed in the 1970s, so that inmates are better able to charge oxygen and CPAP machines, tablets, and TVs.

As for the main focus of the project, the Department of Corrections is hoping to address overcrowding, as a lack of space at Montana facilities has forced the DOC to send around 600 inmates out of state, often far from their families. Between 50 and 60 other inmates are also being housed at county detention centers. Around 1,600 inmates currently make up the available space at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.

DOC director Eric Strauss says that bringing out-of-state inmates back to Montana remains a top priority.

"There's no question in my mind that once those guys are back in Montana, it's better for them," Strauss said. "[They're] closer to family, and just the natural geography of Montana, I think, is better from a rehabilitation perspective."

"Once this is online, we can bring those guys back immediately and get them in here so they can start serving their time and getting the services they need to be rehabilitated and moved back to their communities when their sentence is complete," Strauss added.

Rehabilitation is a major focus of the project, as the new facilities are also set to include more space for programming and education, making those opportunities safer and more convenient for inmates and staff.

Strauss says that the expansion project remains on pace for completion by its established deadline of early 2029.