The Hall County Jail will get new flooring in its main hallways to better handle the heavy wear and tear endured by the 2-year-old facility.

The flooring is painted concrete and has already had to be repainted five times, said Col. Jeff Strickland of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office.

Heavy foot traffic and rolling carts have stripped the paint in the hallways, booking area and laundry room.

“It’s just a maintenance nightmare,” Strickland said. “When we have to stop and paint it and take the old paint up, it’s labor intensive.”

The floors will be recovered with vinyl composition tile, which will hold up much better over time.

“The only maintenance is an inmate workforce will buff and shine this at night,” Strickland said.

The upgraded flooring will cost about $15,000 and will be paid for through the jail’s work release program.

Inmates in the program pay one hour of their salary each day to the jail. The money is used for maintenance to the facility and other inmate costs.

“It’s not tax funds,” Strickland said. “That’s the most important part for us.”

The jail is one of Hall County’s busiest facilities. Around 14,000 people are booked each year and the facility holds up to 1,200 inmates at a time.

“You have to stay on top of your maintenance. If you let it get away from you it’s very costly,” Strickland said. “It’ll extend the life of this building over time.”

The jail, located on 50 acres of property on Barber Road, was completed in October 2007. The $54 million facility, which was paid for by special purpose local option sales taxmoney, was built to relieve the crowded jail in midtown Gainesville.

The old jail building is now occupied by the Corrections Corporation of America’s North Georgia Detention Center, which houses immigration detainees for the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.