Quincy leaders are working to upgrade old infrastructure in the neighborhood

• Quincy leaders are working to update old infrastructure in the neighborhood.
• Quincy's main power substation has been running for almost 100 years.
• Watch the video to see what leaders are planning to do.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Infrastructure that has been serving Quincy for decades needs an upgrade. I’m Ashley Engle your Quincy neighborhood reporter.

Neighbors here have concerns about certain infrastructure being outdated. I’m taking their concerns to the city.

"We love the fact that they are upgrading."

Upgrades city leaders say they are working to get because they are needed for this neighborhood. Including for business owners like Kena Bwembya.

"We haven't had many problems at all"

Which is good! But city leaders are concerned and know some of this neighborhood's infrastructure needs some attention including their power substation.

"Everything is about the same age with very little maintenance over the years."

Richard Ash is Quincy’s Utilities Director.

“Now it’s quite old, out of date and everything”

He tells me the last time this substation had upgrades was in the 1950's

"it’s been in service for close to 100 years."

This substation you see on your screens is responsible for the majority of Quincy’s electricity.

He tells me if something were to go wrong, getting parts would be a challenge because of the age and price for materials.

He says they're working to get this issue resolved to serve neighbors better.

"The overall goal is to make sure we have reliable service, for the citizens of Quincy. Try to make things better so we don't have things breaking. We don't want to interrupt people's lives in Quincy so we want to make things reliable."

Even though there are concerns, neighbors like Kena say they're happy the city is taking action before it’s too late.

"I appreciate the work they are doing and I think it’s fantastic that they want to upgrade, it will help the businesses here."

Ash says these upgrades will take time, but they are needed so neighbor's lives are not interrupted.