Contrary to popular belief, the four miles of steam tunnels running under campus are not escape routes or even spooky places to hide.

The tunnels now look like regular white hallways, with a few additions – cobwebs, spiders and the occasional pile of leaves.

“They were painted white to protect the metal and it makes it brighter. We don’t need much light for safe visibility,” said Mike Murray, utility engineer for facilities planning and management. “Plus, it’s an identifier that these sections don’t contain asbestos.”

The 1998 asbestos abatement was a predecessor to an upgrade project planned for the tunnels.

“The tunnels used to be full of asbestos. It was dark and hot and musty,” Murray said. “People probably found it dark and spooky. Now it’s just a painted white hallway, not very exciting or spooky.”

Jackeline Crespo, exchange student from Puerto Rico majoring in business, said she wouldn’t go into the tunnels because it sounds scary.

“When I think of the tunnels, I think toxic,” she said. “It’s not a place I would want to go hang out.”

A number of students disagree, however.

ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said, to his knowledge, people try to access the tunnels a couple of times a semester, but the numbers have been decreasing over the years as the awareness of electronic monitoring and the dangers involved have increased.

“It’s low overhead, low visibility and not designed or intended for general public use,” he said.

Deisinger said students caught in the tunnels will be charged with criminal trespassing, a simple misdemeanor.

Murray said the steam tunnels’ purpose is to house steam pipes running from the power plant to campus buildings. Steam rushes through the pipes, leaving the power plant at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and traveling into the buildings on campus to provide heat, he said. A smaller white pipe runs above the steam pipe to take condensation back to the plant to be reheated. Even with the layers of insulation, the pipes are still warm to the touch.

“The boiler makes steam like a tea kettle does – it goes to campus, is used to heat the buildings and then condenses like steam on a cold drink,” Murray said. “After it condenses, it returns to the power plant.”

The tunnels were originally built in the 1800s, but sections have been replaced and upgraded since then.

“The oldest tunnels are made of arched brick, while the newest tunnels are made of concrete with steel reinforcement,” Murray said.

“The newest parts are as new as the latest construction season.”

As the tunnels’ popularity and myth grew, security systems were installed to prevent students from becoming adventuresome and accessing the tunnels.

“They are monitored and alarmed and that is very frequently that basis for notification to our office,” Deisinger said. “We don’t get a large number of false alarms.”

It isn’t easy getting into the tunnels anymore; the days of gaining access through almost any manhole on campus are over. Murray said very few buildings have access doors to the tunnels and all the above-ground accesses have key entrances.

Of the four miles of tunnels, only a small portion are open for occasional tours because campus officials don’t want people to know exactly where the tunnels are, Murray said.

The tour starts in Room 74 of Town Engineering, through a locked metal door with a sign reading that only authorized people have access. It progresses through about 30 feet of tunnel, enough to give the tourist a good sample of what the tunnels look like.

“Because the tunnels have been used for theft before, we don’t advertise where they are,” Murray said.

The last reported theft was in the summer of 1999 and involved computers.