The guard was armed with tear gas canisters, which were fired into the inmate areas in the event of a general disturbance. Unarmed personnel inside the dining room provided regular supervision. The armed personnel were for emergency only. They were always located so that the inmates could not get to them to overpower them and take their weapons.

The tunnel provided the separation between the armed guard and the inmate population. It also provided secure access to the catwalks around both the 1912 cell house and the 1896 cell house. Armed guards would patrol the catwalks, as they were considered secure areas. Once, however, in the 1959 riot, the catwalk security was breached. The security. of the tunnel was never breached.

The public access hole into the tunnel was cut in January 2002. It took the contractor, with modem equipment, three times longer to cut through than he anticipated.