Construction is still ongoing in Tuscaloosa for a new$16 million 911 dispatch center serving all county emergency agencies and the Emergency Management Agency.
The Tuscaloosa News reports work on the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Operations and Communications Center is expected to finish by the end of the year, with staff occupying the building next spring. Work on the building began last August.
Tuscaloosa E-911 director Rod Coleman says the new facility will solve the problem of callers being transferred multiple times between agencies and having to repeat their call because of limited current phone technology. He says more than 90 percent of 911 calls received in Tuscaloosa are made from cellphones.
Tuscaloosa and Northport’s police and fire departments, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office and Northstar Ambulance will all have space in the more than 27,000 square foot building.
