WARREN – The demand for high-security glass and locks in the aftermath of worldwide terrorist activities has slowed the completion of work on the new Maine State Prison.

“It’s not only September 11,” Warden Jeffrey Merrill said Friday, referring to the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City. “It’s the attacks on other embassies” and at the Pentagon in Virginia.

Initially, the new $76 million prison was expected to open in November. Then because of training needs, holiday vacations and delays in finishing up construction, the target date had been pushed to sometime in mid-January, but may be delayed further.

“I know that it’s had an impact,” Merrill said, referring to the prison’s ability to obtain the “detention glazing” glass, or high-security glass and locks.

Security glass is used throughout the prison, he said, and it is made to provide different levels of security. One type of glass, for example, may be bullet proof, while another is made to be assault resistant.

“Everybody scoffed it all up,” he said. “We believe we’re all set now and that it’s been secured.”

The security glass and locks are being installed throughout the new facility at Warren, and construction work is being checked to ensure that contractors don’t have to be recalled for any reason.

In light of the magnitude of the project, it has been difficult to predict the exact date that the new facility will open and when the more than 400 inmates will be moved from the Thomaston prison, Merrill said. The complex has about 395,000 square feet of new building space. Sometime after the prisoners are relocated, the 176-year-old Thomaston prison will be demolished.

Even when all the construction details are wrapped up, all systems will be checked and rechecked, and staff will be trained on new equipment, Merrill said.

“So we don’t have a definite date,” he said.

What will be known as the Maine State Prison at Warren will have 886 new beds, as well as the 100 beds that already existed at the adjacent Supermax prison, formally known as Maine Correctional Institute. The complex is located off Route 97.

The control center at the modern, state-of-the-art facility will have the capability to operate nearly 2,000 doors in an emergency, with 80 doors that will be used daily. There will be close to 100 video monitor cameras, 300 telephones, 50 radios and 2,000 intercommunication speakers.

Each employee will have a scan card that will allow them access through doors, which will make it possible for the control room officers to know which workers are where and how many are in a particular area, Merrill said.

Once all systems and equipment are in place, employees will be trained to operate them, he said, pointing out that even the kitchen workers will have to learn to use the high-tech institutional ovens.

Prior to the prison’s opening, the cooks will actually prepare a couple of meals to test the equipment before they attempt to serve some 500 dinners, the warden said.

A tour of the prison was planned for this weekend for staff members and their families, Merrill said, noting that it essentially would be the only opportunity for relatives to view the new facility and that it is important for them to see the work environment. He expected about 1,200 to visit.

According to Merrill, prison officials are working hand in hand with the contractor to coordinate the opening of the new facility and the demolition of the old prison.

Before the Warren prison opens, it is important that all systems are up and running properly and that they are operated correctly. Pushing one wrong button could breach security, Merrill said.

“It’s the inner workings that are absolutely critical,” the warden said.