The City of Decatur has begun construction on an underground fiber-optic network that will be used by both school and city systems.
The project has been divided into four zones, starting with Upland Road/West Ponce De Leon Avenue in the far west of Decatur. Assistant City Manager Teresa Taylor stated that there will be no traffic lane closures because all of the work is underground. Pedestrians on streets such as West Trinity Place, Clairemont Avenue, and Geneva Street can expect some diversions to their usual routes. Banner printing may be used to let people know exactly which areas are under construction.
The entire project is expected to take up to 14 months to complete. Construction will go on from Monday to Friday, 7:00 am to 6:00 pm and sometimes on Saturdays from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. The entire project is expected to cost just under $2m.
The new network will help the city improve its public Wi-Fi. When it is complete, the network will serve 10 school sites and 14 city sites, including police and fire departments. In the meantime, Comcast Cable will continue to serve as a service provider, providing internet to the six sites on the old network which include City Hall, Decatur Recreation Center and Public Works, two fire stations, and the police station.
The current network was built by Media One back in 1999.
