They keep finding problems with the NMB jail. But it's almost done.

Walking down the halls of the North Myrtle Beach jail, those visiting won't notice many differences.

But for Lt. Dana Griffin, the now tan and dark blue walls are drastically different from the former bright yellow paint that donned the hallways.

Renovations on the jail started in early April. They've added intercom systems into the cells and extra security measures, such as improved locking mechanisms.

However, the work has been prolonged due to workers finding further problems with electric, plumbing and roofing.

"We were going to reopen it for Bikefest on the weekend but decided not to," said North Myrtle Beach Public Information Officer Pat Dowling. "It would have been serviceable, but they decided to continue what they were doing."

Dowling said the jail has not been updated since 1986.

When you walk into the jail, holding cells are located in the area below the dispatch center. You'll need keys to walk to the next area, where cells designated for male prisoners line the left end of the building.

To the right are cells for women. Work on the cells has not been completed.

The jail has two visitation rooms, a bond hearing room, an identification room and two "drunk cells," which can hold multiple prisoners. Typically, prisoners do not stay longer than 24 hours.

The jail can hold 100 prisoners — 70 males and 30 females — at one time.

Dowling said there is no projected date yet, after the jail was set to open this week.

But the work has forced police officers to drive inmates to J. Reuben Long Detention Center — a trip that could take up to 40 minutes.

"It's normally is a five-minute ride here. They drop the suspect off, or the prisoner off. Now they just have to drive out to J. Reuben and do the same thing," Griffin said.

With a swing shift, Griffin said taking officers off the street for the drive to Conway is not concerning. The shift puts additional officers on the streets during peak hours.

Officers also will work together to take multiple prisoners to the jail, if possible. If two arrests occur around the same time, one officer will drive multiple prisoners to J. Reuben, rather than having both make the drive.

While there has been a drop in the number of arrests made by officers since the jail has been under construction, Griffin said the work has nothing to do with how many people are arrested.

"I would contribute it to the fact that we are able to write a courtesy ticket instead of having to make a custodial arrest for several charges," she said.

This means that a charge, such as simple possession of marijuana, which previously could have lead to an arrest no matter the amount of marijuana, will lead to a ticket and a court date.

"It's the officer's discretion of whether they actually write a blue ticket for that or whether they actually take custody of them at the time," Griffin said.

This story was originally published May 31, 2018 at 5:02 PM with the headline "They keep finding problems with the NMB jail. But it's almost done.."