Somerset County is on track to upgrade its 30-year-old 911 radio system by early fall, according to 911 coordinator Dave Fox.
Fox said four of the six tower sites have been put together.
“The (concrete) slabs have been poured … the prefabbed (equipment) shelters have been set,” Fox said. “All the grounding that needs done for the electrical around the complex has been done, the fence has been put up, the microwave dishes and antennae have been hung.”
Three of the four completed sites are in the north of the county; the other is in the central region near Somerset. The sites at Mt. Davis and the Bedford County line near Hyndman are still under construction.
Fox said the new system will cover an estimated 95 percent of the county, making it more versatile and safer than the old system. The county will begin testing the system’s coverage in July or August.
“That gives us actually our worst reading for radio,” Fox said. “If you test them in the winter when there’s no leaves or anything on the trees, then you have better coverage because there’s no interference, so we like to test in the summer when the foliage is full.”
Mobile units have been installed the county’s police and emergency medical service vehicles are currently being installed in fire vehicles. Fox said portable units will be distributed to first responders in late summer or early fall.
Fox said the project is currently on track to be completed according to the proposed timeline, and that up until two weeks ago they were also on budget.
“They ran into some rock down at Mt. Davis that they had to dig out to pour the foundation to put the shelter on, so that ran about $20,000 that we weren’t expecting,” Fox said.
The $8.2 million project is being paid for with a $9.2 million bond issue.
