The public will get a chance on Monday to see the inside of the county's new jail expansion while officials are finally seeing a way out of a frustrating project.

The reasons for the overruns run the gamut, from incorrect wiring to flush toilets to improper doors to the addition of a $900,000 air-conditioning system.

While commissioners have contemplated recouping some costs through litigation, Ellertson says many of the overruns were requested by the county and he hopes the county has learned its lesson.

"We would hope to be better prepared going into it on any other project," he said. "It's always interesting to find out where things are when you thought you knew where they were."

The commission has signed several "certificates of substantial completion" in recent meetings, and Sheriff Jim Tracy expects to have inmates in the expansion in a few weeks while renovations are completed on the original portion of the jail. After that, the sheriff said he hopes to keep the place from filling up too quickly.

The jail has been at capacity for years, forcing law-enforcement agencies and judges to get creative with who is incarcerated. Tracy said he hopes to continue the efforts even with the extra beds.

"We don't want to have this thing filled up," he said.

Once those beds are filled, which Tracy expects in five to seven years, the north end of the county will likely get a chance to host the valley's scofflaws. The Spanish Fork facility is officially out of expansion room, and with growth expected in Lehi, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain and beyond, the next logical place is in the north somewhere, Tracy said.

"That will help facilitate the number of courts and their volume," he said.

The expansion will be run under a "direct supervision" system, which puts deputies in areas with inmates, said Sgt. Nancy Killian.

"There's no physical barrier between the inmates and the deputies," said Killian, who has led the transition team for 18 months. "We're not allowing inmates to have control."