Justice Department awards Valdez $5.5 million to replace its public safety radio system

The U.S. Department of Justice obligated $5.5 million to the City of Valdez on Sept. 30 to replace the city's public safety radio system, according to the federal award record. The money is for three repeater towers with communications equipment shelters and for upgrades to the public safety dispatch center inside Valdez City Hall.

The city wrote in the award description that the project will "upgrade and future proof" a radio system it called outdated and deficient. The city said the current system leaves significant gaps in coverage within Valdez's 272 square miles of municipal boundaries. It said the three new towers will be strategically placed.

The Valdez Police and Fire Departments are the main users of the system and the main beneficiaries of the project, the record says.

Other agencies depend on it too. The Alaska State Troopers use the Valdez system for backup communications when their own systems fail. So do the fire and security divisions of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, which protect the terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

The grant came through the Justice Department's Office of Justice Programs under its program for congressionally recommended awards. The record says the city will not pass any of the money to other organizations.

The $5.5 million is the amount obligated to date, which means it has been committed, not spent. Federal postings can trail the action they record by weeks.

The grant period began Sept. 1 and runs through Dec. 31, 2027. By then, Valdez is to finish building the towers and shelters and install the dispatch center upgrades. The city said it expects the result to be a public safety radio system with uninterrupted coverage across its service area.