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Response to I-35W bridge collapse

Emergency radio system plays critical role

As scores of law enforcement agents and emergency medical personnel from different jurisdictions responded to the I-35W bridge collapse on August 1, they had no trouble communicating with each other. Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputies on watercraft could talk with Minneapolis paramedics in ambulances or with Minnesota State Patrol officers on foot. 

That’s because since 2002, a region-wide, 800 MHz emergency radio communication system has been in place in the seven-county metro area. The system allows public safety personnel to talk to each other regardless of their local jurisdiction. The system is the result of more than a decade of work by local, regional and state agencies, coordinated by the Metropolitan Council.

"I am very pleased with how the radio system operated in this tragic event," Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek said. "The ability for so many agencies to communicate with each other at a time like this is essential to providing quick response to the victims and ensures safety for our first responders.  This state-of-the-art, highly dependable radio system has operated beyond our expectations."

The Twin Cities metro area is one of six nationwide that “have developed the most resilient emergency tactical communications systems,” according to a recent Department of Homeland Security report. The report, released in January this year, contained an assessment of the progress of 75 metropolitan areas in strengthening communications systems for dealing with all types of emergencies, from terrorist incidents to natural disasters.

In 1990 — at the request of local officials, led by Hennepin County and the City of Minneapolis — then Metropolitan Council Chair Mary Anderson appointed a Regional Trunked Radio Task Force to study the feasibility of region-wide, 800 MHz public safety radio system. At the time, different law enforcement agencies and cities had their own emergency communications frequencies, and often had difficulty talking with each other. The geographic reach of the local systems was limited, as was the number of available channels.

New digital technology was becoming available, and it became apparent that it would be much more cost-effective for agencies to work together to build a regional system. All jurisdictions would share the cost of the system “backbone” — the control computer, software, transmission towers and telecommunications links.

The task force recommendations became the basis for legislation signed by Gov. Arne Carlson to create a Metropolitan Radio Board, staffed by the Council, to oversee installation of a system. The state had to act quickly in order to reserve channel capacity made available by the federal government in the early 1990s.

“This is a terrific example of how a regional solution pays off,” said current Council Chair Peter Bell. “Otherwise, different agencies would have built their own overlapping systems at a much greater cost to taxpayers.”

Once the radio system became operational, the board was dissolved. The core infrastructure of the system is now operated and maintained by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Each local jurisdiction purchases and maintains radio communications equipment to use the system.