From top to bottom, the D.C. Jail suffers from the pains of old age.
Roughly 1,600 cell-door mechanisms in 18 cell blocks are nearing the end of their useful lifespans, according to a list of critical renovation projects found in Mayor Adrian Fenty’s 2008 budget proposal. The 1970s-era detention center’s roof leaks water, and it also has a decaying steam supply system.
“The projects listed in the mayor’s proposed ’08 capital budget are routine repairs that must periodically be addressed by all correctional facilities,” Department of Corrections Director Devon Brown said in a statement. “This is particularly the case when one realizes the volume of their use are processed through our jail each year.”
Brown’s comment appears to conflict with budget language that implies a dire situation demanding urgent repairs. Design for the cell-door project was completed several years ago, according to budget documents,but construction — including wiring and control replacement — was postponed to make way for other jobs. Now back on the list of priorities, the project requires a redesign, and work isn’t slated to begin until 2010.
But by 2011, the documents state, “parts will just not be available and cells will start going down.”
The steam supply and return system, which provides heat and hot water for the entire 2,100-inmate center, will be overhauled in phases starting this year. The work will include the replacement of more than 1,000 feet of supply line, more than 1,300 feet of condensate return lines, fittings, traps, valves and pumps.
The steam distribution system has “dilapidated” over the years, according to the capital budget. And work on the steam return system on the ground floor and in the basement must be done now, “because it poses a major safety hazard to inmates, staff and visitors.”
As for the building’s roof, 60,000 square feet must be replaced — a project that isn’t expected to start until 2009.
“Since a lot of equipment has been installed on the roof recently for various building systems, the integrity of the built up roof has been breached at many locations causing it to leak water into the building,” the budget says.
