JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Missouri is moving closer to replacing a new mental health facility at the Fulton State Hospital.

The Office of Administration announced Tuesday that $92 million in bonds had been issued for the project. Fulton State Hospital opened in 1851 and is the oldest state psychiatric hospital west of the Mississippi River. It houses the state’s only maximum security psychiatric facility.

The bonding is the result of a measure passed this year by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Jay Nixon. It will pay to demolish old buildings and replace them with 413,000 square feet of new facilities.

Gov. Jay Nixon said in a news release that a new facility will “mean better care for patients and greater safety for employees.”