Prison Design Locks Up Reliable Steam Supply With Watertube Boilers
Pittsburgh has an existing correctional institution that has too little capacity and is old. The state selected a site in nearby Fayette County for a new institution. The new prison would sit on top of a 400-ft precipice that borders the Monongahela River — the nearest town being on the other side of the river and the nearest bridge, nine miles away. In order to protect the site from the weather and prevent it from becoming an eyesore, approximately 100 ft of the top of the mountain was dug out, creating a bowl-like shape.
Because of its location and budgetary constraints, the original design had called for three large firetube oil-burning boilers. Pennsylvania, like many other states, mandates that a new state facility must use indigenous fuel, but space constraints made installing the firetube boilers impractical.