Sources close to the San Louis Obispo Sheriff's Department say the long-awaited women's jail expansion project is finally underway.

The plan has been talked about for more than a decade, according to officials, and now that it's finally broken ground the added space should help reduce the facility's overcrowding problem.

The expanded facility will include a 46,000 square foot jail and more than 75 percent of that space will be allocated for housing.  Blueprints show it will add 198 beds and will have space to provide educational and counseling programs.

Eight thousand square feet will be allocated for medical care facilities that …