State begins moving inmates from Graterford to new facility

Over 2,500 inmates at an 89-year-old Pennsylvania prison are being transferred to a brand-new, long-delayed facility about a mile down the road.

The Department of Corrections says the first phase of transfers began just after 9 a.m. Wednesday from the state prison at Graterford to the sprawling, $400 million complex at SCI Phoenix.

Several hundred inmates will be moved each day by bus, for however long it takes to complete the operation.

A spokeswoman says the roads between the facilities about 35 miles (56 kilometers) northwest of Philadelphia are closed to the public during the transfer.

The new prison can house about 3,830 male inmates. It also has a separate, 192-bed female transition unit outside the perimeter.

Pennsylvania has 25 state prisons after closing three in the last five years.

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