New prison receives high-efficiency boiler backup

摘要

Fayette, PA. ― When a government ― be it city, state or federal ― steps up to pay for a public building, it will always demand a heating system both dependable and efficient. But issues of dependability and efficiency become even more important when that building is a prison. Then maintenance and budget issues are at the same time security issues. The new 672,000-sq.-ft. State Correctional Institution, Fayette, was built to replace an existing prison in Pittsburgh that has grown too old and has too little capacity. It sits atop a 400-ft. precipice on the banks of the Monongahela River, with the nearest bridge (and nearest municipality of any size) nine miles away. The prison's construction promised an economic shot in the arm for the sparsely populated county. Civil work on the site included cutting about 100 ft. off the top of the mountain to create a bowl-like shape that would protect the prison from weather and prevent it from becoming an eyesore.