Construction began this week on Decatur’s new fiber optic network that’ll be shared by both the city and the school system. The project gets divided into four zones beginning with the West Ponce de Leon Avenue/Upland Road intersection in extreme west Decatur. With all the work underground no traffic lanes should get closed, according to Assistant City Manager Teresa Taylor
Work is expected to last 12 to 14 months. Construction will typically run Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and occasionally 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
Building the new network costs a shade under $2 million. When finished it will provide uninterrupted communications services for 14 city and 10 school sites, including the Decatur Police and Fire Departments. It will also allow the city to eventually (though not immediately) enhance its famously spotty Wi-Fi.
During the interim Comcast Cable will continue serving as provider, covering the six original sites of the current network: City Hall, the police station, both fire stations, the Decatur Recreation Center and Public Works. Media One, an earlier incarnation of Comcast, built the city’s current network in 1999.
The first phase of the project, in zone one, includes these streets: West Ponce de Leon Avenue/Upland, West Trinity Place, Commerce Drive, Clairemont Avenue, Scott Boulevard, Huron Street, Erie Avenue and Geneva Street.
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