ALFRED (AP) – Family visits are expected to resume now that county jail prisoners have been relocated.

Authorities moved 138 prisoners Sunday night from the old York county jail on Route 4 to a new $20 million facility about a quarter-mile down the street.

Lt. Col. Michael Vitiello, the county jail administrator, said prisoners appeared pleased.

“We did a tour at midnight and the inmates were extremely quiet,” he said.

The new jail can house up to 270 inmates. It includes a 38-bed female unit and a maximum-security unit for up to 24 prisoners.

The new jail replaces a 30-year-old facility that was the scene of riots in 2001. State inspectors concluded that the incidents were partly triggered by overcrowding and code violations.

Sheriff Philip Cote said the prisoners were moved without incident. He said applause erupted in F block at the old jail when prisoners learned they were about to be moved to new quarters.

The move involved 67 jail personnel and officers from the York County Sheriff’s Office and Maine state police who transported the prisoners in four vans.

Five police dogs were used to patrol the grounds and help ensure inmates were not carrying contraband or weapons.

Sited on 100 acres, the new jail has about six times the space of the old facility.

Cote said several other counties have contacted York County hoping to transfer prisoners but that his department needs time to assess the stability of its own jail population.

The county jail houses people awaiting trial as well as those who have been sentenced to a year or less.

Sunday night’s move marks the end of a four-year project to solve overcrowding at York County Jail, which at times saw its inmate population rise to 170 although the jail was designed to accommodate 151 prisoners.

AP-ES-01-13-04 0215EST