Solar Powered Call Boxes installed along Highway 50

Source: Matthew Barrows Sacramento Bee 2001.11.27

EL DORADO COUNTY -- Approximately 40 call boxes have been installed along Highway 50 between the Sacramento County line and Placerville as part
of a joint effort by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, the California Highway Patrol and El Dorado County officials.

By the time the project is completed next year, there will be about 100 call boxes at one-mile intervals along Highway 50 through the Sierra.

The new boxes, which run on solar power, bring the number in Sacramento, Yolo, Sutter, Yuba and San Joaquin counties to 1,400.

"These call boxes serve as a direct line to the CHP, where motorists can receive roadside assistance and report dangerous or hazardous conditions,"
El Dorado County Supervisor Rusty Dupray said in a press release.

Despite a boom in cell phone use, CHP officials said they receive more than 3,000 calls from the call boxes each month.

The call box program is funded by a $1 increase in vehicle registration fees in the service area. SACOG has operated the program since 1994.

[e-Clips Editor Note: There are over 30,000 solar power call boxes installed throughout California]