Work is already under way to start the $64 million expansion of the State Penitentiary in Bismarck.

While construction on the prison expansion will not start until next year, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials have already begun their search for architects to work on the project, said Leann K. Bertsch, director of the DOCR.

"We're hopeful that construction will start by October 2010 and that we would complete construction by November of 2012, two years once we start actually digging in the ground and start building," Bertsch said.

That timeline also is subject to change, she added.

The prison, which originally opened in 1884, houses about 1,450 inmates at any given time, said Tim Schuetzle, warden of the penitentiary since 1991, when there were about 500 inmates.

Among the major changes to the prison are a new cell block to house general population inmates, an improved cell block to segregate unruly prisoners behind steel doors with Plexiglass, and a new clinic and infirmary.

East cell block

In what looks like scene out of a classic prison movie, the East Cell block houses 159 inmates in the oldest building inside the state prison walls.

Schuetzle said the cell block does not meet a number of national standards with cells that are too small and noise levels that are too high. And there's no central cooling or heating.

"There are some smells and there is some noise, which isn't always conducive to sleep all the time," Schuetzle said.

Once a new cell block is constructed, the East Cell block is planned to be torn down.

"This cell house needs to be replaced," Schuetzle said. "There are problems with sprinklers, problems with ADA issues. Cell size - it doesn't meet any of that."

Infirmary

An entirely new medical unit is planned for the prison, which will be built in the western portion of the recreation yard.

Right now, there are five beds in the infirmary, while the new model calls for 30 beds, which also could house inmates who would otherwise go to a nursing home, Schuetzle said.

Another problem is a lack of privacy for inmates, especially when seeing a doctor, because the checkup room and waiting room are partitioned by a sheet of plywood.

"So if you're telling a guy he is HIV positive or you're telling somebody they have (hepatitis) C, you can't let the rest of the inmates hear that, but yet there isn't really any confidentiality," Schuetzle said.

Observation rooms also are cramped and difficult for the medical staff to work around when dealing with an ill prisoner, Schuetzle said.

Five cells near the infirmary also are dedicated to inmates who are on suicide watch, where they can be monitored by constant video or staff observation. The plan is to expand the area to 10 cells, where geriatric prisoners also could be housed, Schuetzle said.

Segregation unit

The administrative segregation block of the prison, which Schuetzle says is like the "jail within the jail," also is due for an expansion.

The block houses inmates who have assaulted other inmates and prison officials or have made escape attempts, Schuetzle said. It was remodeled in 1997 and houses 40 men behind solid steel doors with windows and slots for hand and feet to be cuffed.

Inmates in this section of the prison are in their cells seven days a week for 23 hours a day, Schuetzle said.

Schuetzle said 60 men should be locked up in this portion of the prison, but there just isn't the room. The plan is to build an administrative segregation unit with 100 to 110 cells, he said.

Disciplinary segregation or overflow beds also would be used in the new unit.

Because the administrative segregation area is already over capacity, some men who are on the verge of going back into the general population are kept in cells with bars rather than the steel doors.

"It's tough for the officers to work here ¦ (inmates) could reach through the bars, they could try to grab your keys, try to grab your radio," Schuetzle said. "It's not a very safe environment."

Orientation block

Also planned is an expansion of the orientation block, which is where all prison inmates in North Dakota are initially sent and mentally evaluated before entering the general population or going to another prison in the state.

Beds there are expected to increase from the current 65 to 125. Some of those beds could be used for overflow. About 80 new men come to the orientation unit every month, Schuetzle said.

(Reach reporter Brian Duggan at 223-8482 or brian.duggan@;bismarcktribune.com.)