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Contractors continue to work to ensure any open trenches, pipes daylighting, and/or equipment in the ROW is properly barricaded. Contractors are also working to make sure they are cleaning up when finished installing conduits and pull boxes.
September 2023
September 11 - September 15
- All installation of conduit and pull boxes in the SQ quadrant was completed this week.
- Trenching resumed on Firth Road and is taking place between South 12th and South 54th Street.
- SW Quadrant: 8,988 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 219,651 feet.
- SE Quadrant: 1,895 feet of conduit was laid this week, keeping the total quantity of conduit laid to 7,510 feet from last week.
September 4 - September 8
- Boring is taking place on SW 84th Street between W Pioneers and W Van Dorn.
- Boring is also finishing up on W Denton Road and pull boxes are being installed along the way.
- All pull boxes installed to date are not yet in service.
- Section 3 of the SE quadrant is currently being staked prior to any work taking place to ensure no existing utilities are disrupted.
- Trenching will resume on Firth Road in the SE quadrant next week.
- SW Quadrant: 9,380 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 210,639 feet.
- SE Quadrant: 0 feet of conduit was laid this week, keeping the total quantity of conduit laid to 5,615 feet from last week.
August 2023
August 28 - September 1
- Boring is being completed in and around the community of Village along W Denton Road.
- Pull boxes continue to be installed along the way. All pull boxes that are have been installed are not yet in service.
- Pull box inspections will need to be completed before they can be fully serviced.
- Staking has started in Section 3 of the SE quadrant. Utility lines are being located along the way to ensure there is no disruption to service.
- Trenching has also started on Firth Road in the SE Quadrant.
- SW Quadrant: 580 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 201,259 feet.
- SE Quadrant: 0 feet of conduit was laid this week, keeping the total quantity of conduit laid to 5,615 feet from last week.
August 21-25
- Boring work started in and around Denton, Nebraska. Boring will continue in Denton and along W Denton Road.
- Pull boxes are being installed along the way. All pull boxes currently installed are not yet in service. Pull box inspections will be taking place prior to being put in service.
- Trenching took place on Firth Road in the SE Quadrant.
- Sections 1 & 2 have been staked and will be inspected for any utility conflicts prior to any construction taking place.
- SW Quadrant: 4,195 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 200,679 feet.
- SE Quadrant: 1,170 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 5,615 feet.
August 14-18
- Boring took place on W Denton Road. Pull boxes were installed by two crews along the way. All pull boxes that have been installed are not yet in service.
- Pull box inspections will be taking place on all that have been installed to date.
- Construction has officially started in the SE quadrant of Lancaster County. Bauer Underground was selected as the contractor for this next phase of the project.
- Crews started work on trenching in conduits and will continue this work after all utility and communications lines have been staked.
- SW Quadrant: 4,840 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 187,414 feet.
- SE Quadrant: 4,445 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 4,445 feet.
August 7-11
- Boring is being completed on W Denton Road and pull boxes are being installed along the way. All pull boxes that have been installed are not yet in service.
- Pull box inspections are being conducted and will officially begin being put in service next week.
- SE quadrant sections 1 & 2 have been staked and will be assessed for potential utility conflicts next week.
- More than 4,000 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 182,574 feet.
July 31-August 4
- Boring is being completed in Hallam, NE on W Denton Road.
- Conduit was reinstalled on SW 42nd Street, south of Olive Creek Road.
- Pull boxes continue to be installed along the way. All pull boxes currently installed are not yet in service.
- More than 6,700 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to 178,554 feet.
July 2023
July 24-28
- Boring is being completed on W Sprague Road and W Denton Road.
- Conduit was reinstalled starting on the NW corner of SW 42nd Street and W Sprague Road and continued west toward the creek. Two crews are working on installing pull boxes along this same path.
- All pull boxes that have been installed are not yet in service.
- More than 5,890 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 171,830 feet.
July 17-21
- Trenching took place along SW 91st/84th Street and is working its way toward W Van Dorn Street.
- Bore crews are working on completing bores on W Sprague Road and pull boxes continue to be installed along the way.
- All pull boxes currently installed are not in service yet but continue to be inspected by contractor crews.
July 10 - 14
- Trenching continued along SW 91st/84th Street and is making its way toward W Van Dorn Street.
- Boring took place on W Sprague Road.
- Pull boxes were installed along SW 114th Street and on W Sprague Road.
- All pull boxes currently installed are not yet in service.
July 3 - 7
- Due to the holiday and weather conditions, no work was conducted during this period.
June 2023
June 26-30
- Trenching took place along SW 91st Street working toward the north.
- Boring took place on W Sprague Road with pull boxes being installed along the way on SW 114th Street and W Sprague Road.
- All pull boxes that have been installed are not yet in service.
- Lancaster County staff and contractor employees held a pre-construction meeting on Jun 26th to discuss work planned for the Southeast, Northeast, and Northwest quadrants.
- More than 6,860 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 158,730 feet.
June 19-23
- Trenching along W. Denton Road continued and reached just west of SW 40th Street.
- Boring took place on SW 114th Street along with pull box installation.
- Boring finished up on SW 42nd Street and W Hallam Road.
- Boring work and pull box installation will continue on W Sprague Road into next week.
- More than 8,735 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 151,870 feet.
June 12-16
- Boring was completed on SW 42nd Street and W Hallam Road.
- Boring also continues to be worked on along W Sprague Road.
- Pull boxes continue to be installed along the way.
- More than 8,795 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 143,161 feet.
June 5-9
- Trenching took place along SW 114th Street, south of W Stagecoach Road.
- Two bore crews were onsite working to complete bores on SW 42nd St.
- Pull boxes continue to be installed along the way. So far, 26 pull boxes have been installed but are not yet in service.
- Next week, trenching work will finish up on SW 114th Street towards Kramer, NE. After that, construction crews will be moving back to W Denton Road to continue working their way towards Denton, NE. The bore crews are working on completing bores where they have previously trenched.
- More than 19,866 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 134,366 feet.
May 2023
May 29-June 2
- Trenching took place along W Sprague west of SW 86th Street. Work will continue along this same path moving west, with trenching and boring along W Sprague Road toward Kramer planned to take place next week.
- Boring also took place down SW 42nd Street as well as on W Hallam Road.
- Pull boxes continue to be installed along all of these paths.
- More than 12,305 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 114,500 feet.
May 21-27
- Trenching took place along W. Sprague Road, west of SW 42nd Street and will continue working west.
- Boring along SW 12th Street between Hwy 77 and W Firth Road is finishing up soon.
- Boring is also finishing up on SW 14th Street to Hwy 33.
- Pull boxes continue to be installed along the way but are not yet in service.
- More than 7,700 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 102,195 feet.
May 14–20
- Trenching has started south of Princeton along SW 12th Street. Work will continue south along this road to the Hwy 77 connection.
- Bores are being worked on along SW 14th Street.
- Pull boxes continue to be installed along the way.
- More than 11,200 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 94,405 feet.
May 7-13
- Trenching began along W Hallam Road, just west of Highway 77.
- Boring is being completed on SW 12th/14th Streets. This construction is located north of Highway 33.
- Pull boxes continue to be installed along the way for both of these segments. However, installed pull boxes are not officially in service yet.
- More than 6,600 feet of conduit was laid this week, bringing the total quantity of conduit laid to over 83,000 feet.
May 1-5
- Work continues to progress in the southwest quadrant.
- This week, an additional 15,000+ feet of conduit has been installed.
- Boring and installation of pull boxes along SW 12th/14th streets between W. Denton Road and W. Wittstruck Road is ongoing.
- Trenching along W. Hallam Road has begun and will continue next week.
April 2023
- Broadband infrastructure construction continues to progress in the southwest quadrant.
- Conduit and pull boxes continue to be installed along SW 12th/14th streets.
- New trenching has been completed and boring has started on SW 29th Street between W. Martell Road and W. Sprague Road, and along SW 42nd Street to Stagecoach Road. Pull boxes were installed along the way.
- Trenching to Sprague is complete with the conduit connection laid in the coming week and boring still to occur.
- Trenching continues south of Stagecoach Road along SW 42nd Street and boring will continue along that same route.
- As of April 28th, over 60,000 feet of conduit has been installed.
March 2023
- Broadband infrastructure construction has begun in the southwest quadrant.
- Conduit and pull boxes were installed on SW 12th/14th streets, and conduit was installed on W Denton Road, between W Folsom and SW 12th streets.
- Southwest quadrant construction is anticipated to be complete in summer 2023.
January and February 2023
- Updates to the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners were provided regarding project costs, conduit system routing, and the planned schedule moving forward.
- Construction bids were received and reviewed, and a contractor was chosen by Lancaster County for proposed work in the southwest quadrant of the County.
- A preconstruction meeting with the selected contractor, area utility representatives, and construction administration project team members was scheduled. It will be on March 8, 2023.
December 2022
- Lancaster County issued a notice to bidders for the construction of the SW Quadrant broadband conduit infrastructure (see Bid 22-259). A pre-bid meeting was held on December 9, 2022, at 1:30 p.m. at Lancaster County Engineering (444 Cherrycreek Road Building C Lincoln, NE 68528). Bids were due December 16, 2022.
- Lancaster County solicited indications of interest from internet service providers to lease space within the County’s public conduit system (see Solicitation 3401680). The goal of this solicitation was to expand County-wide access to competitive, reliable fiber optic networks and high-speed broadband services. Consistent with the purposes of the County’s investment, responses were evaluated to identify service providers who displayed the capabilities and commitment to leverage this public asset in order to more quickly and efficiently deploy private fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) infrastructure.
November 2022
- The Broadband Infrastructure Project Team finalized design plans for the southwest quadrant and developed draft procurement package information for bidding of initial construction.
October 2022
- Final routing and field review updates were completed for the project conduit alignments. Design and permitting work commenced on all quadrants of the project with an initial focus on the southwest quadrant.
- Lancaster County finalized and submitted an application for the Middle Mile Broadband Grant Program.
September 2022
- Lancaster County hosted two open houses providing an overview of the project, including the preliminary conduit route. The first meeting was held Wednesday, September 14, 2022, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Firth Community Center. The second meeting was held Thursday, September 15, 2022, from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at the Davey Community Center.
- Lancaster County issued a Call for Letters of Commitment from Providers. Submitted Letters of Commitment will be used to support the County’s application for the Middle Mile Broadband Grant Program (“MMG Program”), a federal broadband grant under the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Division F, Title IV, Section 60401, Public Law 117-58, 135 Stat. 429 (November 15, 2021) (“Infrastructure Act”). Provider Letters of Commitment were due by close of business Tuesday, September 27, 2022.
- Lancaster County encouraged County residents and businesses to take a brief survey about current and future internet service in the County. The survey was open through September 30, 2022.
June 7, 2022
Broadband infrastructure is coming to Lancaster County!
Today the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners approved an agreement with JEO Consulting Group for the design, permitting, and construction administration of the Lancaster County broadband infrastructure project. This project will place conduit in the County road right-of-way, strategically routing to and between communities. Once this conduit is placed, telecommunications companies can install their fiber to bring services like ultra-high-speed internet to Lancaster County residents!
With more than an estimated 170 miles of conduit system infrastructure to construct, the project will be completed in multiple phases so that we can bring this quality-of-life benefit to portions of Lancaster County as soon as possible.
The Lancaster County Broadband Infrastructure project will place an estimated 175 miles of conduit in the County road right-of-way, strategically routing to and between the County’s 12 incorporated cities/villages and 10 unincorporated communities.
- JEO Consulting Group, a local civil engineering firm, will complete the design, permitting, and construction administration for this project.
- Following the development of bid packages, contractors will be procured for construction.
- Once the conduit is placed, telecommunications companies can install their fiber in this conduit and build out additional segments to bring services, like high-speed internet, to County residents and businesses.
- Each community in the County can coordinate with telecommunications providers regarding services.
This project is funded by a $10 million allocation of Lancaster County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
Conduit infrastructure will be designed and constructed in four quadrant-based packages, with anticipated project completion by the end of 2023.
- The quadrant-based approach provides manageable design and permitting packages that also enables this quality-of-life benefit to reach County residents as soon as possible.
- Each quadrant will progress through the following cycle: design, final plans, permitting, contractor procurement, and construction and inspection.
- The first phase of construction work started in the southwest quadrant of Lancaster County and soon will expand throughout the other three quadrants.
This project is funded by a $10 million allocation of Lancaster County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding.
Project Schedule
The conduit infrastructure is being strategically routed to and between Lancaster County’s 12 incorporated cities/villages and 10 unincorporated communities.
- High Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) conduit will be placed in multi-unit bundles.
- Lancaster County can lease each of the conduits for providers to install fiber.
- Providers can then bring their services to County residents and businesses.
It is anticipated the conduit will be placed in existing County road right of way, minimizing the need for easements from property owners along the route.
The conduit infrastructure will be designed, permitted, and constructed in four quadrant-based packages, starting in the southwest quadrant and progressing counterclockwise.
- Lancaster County hosted two community informational meetings in September 2022 to share project information with city/village/community staff and elected leaders.
- Lancaster County will further coordinate with communities during the design phase of each quadrant.
- Project updates will routinely be added to the project website and shared with Lancaster County communities.
What is broadband?
In the simplest of terms, broadband is reliable high-speed internet. The Federal Communications Commission defines high-speed internet as having download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second (Mbps) and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps.
Broadband is delivered through multiple technologies, such as fiber, fixed wireless, digital subscriber line (DSL), or cable. The Lancaster County Broadband Infrastructure project will install conduit for telecommunications companies to install and deliver high-speed internet by fiber.
Will this project bring fiber to my home or business?
This project will not directly deliver fiber, or high-speed internet, to Lancaster County homes and businesses. Instead, the goal of this project is to lay conduit infrastructure in County right of way so that telecommunications companies can bring fiber service to Lancaster County homes and businesses.
How was the quadrant order determined?
The Southwest quadrant was selected as the first quadrant because the need for County-owned conduit infrastructure is amplified by a separate, but relevant, two-year broadband grant program administered at the State level. In January 2022, the Nebraska Public Service Commission awarded Nebraska Broadband Bridge Program grants to telecommunications companies to bring high-speed internet to nearly 12,400 homes across the state. Sprague, Holland, and Martell were among the communities benefiting from this program. However, it is not feasible for telecommunications companies to bring their services to Lancaster County homes and businesses without conduit infrastructure in the County. Thus, this project will bring conduit infrastructure to southwest Lancaster County first, in support of the Broadband Bridge Program deadline of December 2023.
Why should Lancaster County own broadband infrastructure – isn’t that the responsibility of the service providers?
Broadband infrastructure could be designed and constructed by private service providers; however, it is more beneficial for the County to own this infrastructure for several reasons:
- The public infrastructure enables multiple telecommunications companies to bring their services to Lancaster County, preventing monopolies in service areas and encouraging competitive service (and pricing) for County businesses and residents.
- The conduit infrastructure can be used to provide high-speed internet to Lancaster County facilities, like maintenance shops. This infrastructure also sets the County up for smart traffic signals and other connectivity projects, as needed, in the future.
- Once constructed, the conduit infrastructure can generate enough income to support its ongoing operations and maintenance through the leasing of conduit space to telecommunications companies.
This approach is similar to the City of Lincoln’s conduit lease program, which through a public-private partnership delivered high-speed internet to the City of more than 275,000 people in four years.
How did Lancaster County come up with the funds for this project?
In January 2022, the Lancaster County Board of Commissioners committed $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support the development of broadband infrastructure in the County. The Board prioritized this project based on input received from the community on how to allocate the funds.
Will this project require additional easements or right of way?
Lancaster County intends to use existing right of way as much as possible. Property owners will be contacted by the project team and Lancaster County Right-of-Way staff should additional easements or right of way be required.
Why doesn’t construction start immediately after the procurement phase?
The brief gap between the procurement and construction phases allows time for the final coordination of design plans, scheduling of construction management staff, and pre-construction meetings between Lancaster Counter, JEO Consulting Group, and the awarded contractor.