Carbon County is moving forward with an interconnectivity project at its 911 communications center that will allow people in trouble to send a text for help.

On Thursday, the board of commissioners approved an agreement with Monroe County and WEST for the Text-to-911 program.

The costs for the project were secured through a state interconnectivity grant by Monroe County and will include the first year of the program.

After that, the counties in the project — Carbon, Monroe, Luzerne, Schuylkill and Susquehanna — will pay the maintenance for the Text-to-911 program. Carbon’s share will be $3,900 annually.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that at this time, the county doesn’t have this ability in its 911 operations, but will be added soon.

The board spoke about interconnectivity and how programs like the Text-to-911 are helping create a network between the counties so that vital information can seamlessly be passed between counties during an emergency.

Carbon County has been working on interconnectivity projects for years, spending upward of $1 million in Act 12 statewide interconnectivity funding on various projects, including implementing a regionalized network among Carbon, Monroe and Lackawanna counties by upgrading the computer-aided dispatching system, and adding a new phone switch system and Emergency Services IP networks; as well as upgrading the GIS equipment and integrating location services into the phone system.

No time frame was announced on when the 911 texting service will become available in Carbon County.