AASHTO Journal - Caltrans Video Details Broadband Expansion Work

The California Department of Transportation recently released a video that details how the agency is helping the California Department of Technology install thousands of miles of broadband infrastructure statewide – especially in rural areas.

[Above photo by Caltrans]

Both agencies are engaged in building out what’s known as the “middle mile” broadband network within highway right-of-ways owned and maintained by Caltrans.

The open access middle mile system, said Caltrans, is designed to provide “affordable, life-changing, high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved” state residents, helping make the “digital divide a thing of the past.”

As a result of this effort, Caltrans said “thousands of miles of broadband cable” will crisscross the state, forming a vast open access network that will “create opportunities for internet service providers and enterprise users such as schools and libraries.”

Many state departments of transportation are engaged in similar efforts.

For example, the recent formation of a public-private partnership between the Arizona Department of Transportation, the Arizona Commerce Authority, and eX2 Technology aims to significantly expand broadband internet access in rural areas of Arizona.

The 25-year agreement calls on Nebraska-based eX2 Technology to operate, maintain, and lease space in fiber-optic conduit installed along I-17 and I-19; installing similar conduit along much of I-40 in late 2024.

This partnership represents the next step in leveraging state-owned, open-access conduit installed by Arizona DOT to expand broadband internet access to homes and businesses in rural parts of the state, the agency said.

Additionally, in January, the Colorado Transportation Commission approved a lower fee schedule for access to roadway rights-of-way maintained by the Colorado Department of Transportation to expand the ability of third parties to install fiber optic cable for broadband access and service statewide.

This adopted fee schedule, more than 90 percent lower than the version initially proposed, makes Colorado DOT property available for broadband development in accordance with the 2022 Executive Order of Governor Jared Polis (D) so residents can access high-speed internet in every corner of the state.

More broadly, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials provided suggestions to the U.S. Department of Commerce in a February 2022 letter on how to improve the role state DOTs play in broadband projects.

AASHTO said federal agencies should avoid a “one size fits all” approach to broadband projects and promote public-private partnerships between state agencies and broadband providers to expand future deployments.

To help streamline broadband projects, the Federal Highway Administration published a final rule in December 2021 that allows for the installation of broadband cable during road construction projects to avoid the need for further excavation in the future.

Often referred to as the “dig once” rule regarding broadband deployment, the FHWA said this approach could minimize cost and disruption to the traveling public.