Gervan had promised his managers that the network would be ready for operation by the summer of 1948, requiring de Neuf's engineering staff and contractors to construct transmitter buildings and towers through the winter season. The likelihood of heavy precipitation in upstate New York's snowbelt required temporary heated shells to be erected around each building site, allowing concrete to be poured and masonry work to proceed on schedule. The worst weather conditions, by far, were encountered at the Turin site on the highest point of the Tug Hill Plateau, a remote area due east of Lake Ontario known for record lake-effect snowfall. Pending installation of telephone service, RRN engineers assigned to each construction site kept in contact by means of high-band VHF mobile two-way radios that were later modified for remote-pickup use.