HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania’s newest and costliest state prison is close to opening, late and over budget.
The Department of Corrections said it will formally dedicate the State Correctional Institution at Phoenix on Friday and start transferring inmates there in June.
Phoenix is replacing Graterford state prison, opened in 1929 a mile away in Montgomery County.
Officials began seeking a replacement for Graterford more than a decade ago. The new prison had been expected to open in 2014 when officials received the winning bid of $316 million in 2011. The state projects the cost at about $400 million, although it wants to withhold about $30 million from contractors in penalties.
Pennsylvania has 25 state prisons after closing three in the last five years. A prisons spokeswoman says Graterford will be mothballed.
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