Upgrades to county infrastructure continue this spring for the outdoor warning system around Washington County. Washington County Emergency Management along with construction crews, began work on replacing the siren which serves the Brighton area on Thursday. Crews ran into an issue at the Brighton location and are continuing work to troubleshoot the problem. Emergency Management tells KCII news that work will continue next week, with another test scheduled. The Brighton install is happening in the same location as the old equipment, meaning both are non-functional at this time. In the interim, Brighton Fire Department personnel and city staff will manually set off the older fire siren at the fire station if needed.

Other locations that are still scheduled for replacement over the next few weeks are Ainsworth, Riverside and Adams Street in Washington. All other equipment has been changed. Some installations occurred in new locations, including the Kalona South Town/Richmond area, Highland Schools, Marr Park and Lake Darling. Kalona’s siren location changed to the Mid-Prairie School District campus.

The total county siren replacement project cost is approximately $650,000 with nearly $450,000 of that total coming from a Washington County Riverboat Foundation Grant.