Nelson broadband project moves forward

Construction began last week on fiber optic cables, the next phase of a county-wide broadband Internet access project in Nelson.

“It’s an exciting day for everyone in the county involved with the project,” said Steve Carter, the county administrator. “Hopefully we can get this done and get it out to the citizens as soon as possible.”

The broadband project is paid for by a $1.8 million federal stimulus grant that includes four towers and the underground fiber optic cable. The service will provide Internet speeds between 10 megabits per second and 1 gigabit per second.

Last week, MasTec, a Newport News-based company, began digging trenches for the first of six segments of the 31 miles of fiber optic cables.

Starting in Afton, the cable path will run down Virginia 151 to Virginia 6 then east to U.S. 29 where it will go south to Colleen. The first segment continues from the existing tower in the Colleen Business Park about eight miles along U.S. 29 to the high school, said Michael Hansbrough, the project supervisor for MasTec.

The six segments are different lengths. Hansbrough said they expect to install the fiber in order from the south to the north, but may have to jump among segments.

He expects the project to be completed by next April or May, depending on the weather.

Once the trenches are dug, conduits will be put in the ground and then the cables will be placed inside. The cables will then be spliced, the fibers linked together,, thus allowing people to use the broadband.

“We’re ready to see it start because we’ve been planning for almost a year,” Hansbrough said.

The pieces of the project are starting to fall into place.

One of the service providers has been chosen. It’s Stewart Computer Services, a wireless Internet service provider based in Arrington, said Joe Dan Johnson, the chairman of the Board of Supervisors.

“This project’s importance is untold for the community for both development and the pure quality of life,” Johnson said. “It’s the key to life in the 21 st century in the county.”

Right now, the tower in the Colleen Business Park is the only one of the four that has been built. The location for the second tower at the intersection of Virginia 6 and Virginia 151 at the Central Virginia Electric Cooperative substation has been approved by the Board of Supervisors.

A public hearing on the proposed location of the Afton tower is set for the Dec. 28 Planning Commission meeting.

The two possible locations are the Rockfish Valley Fire Department and 100 yards away on the originally proposed site at 10368 Critzer Shop Road, the site of the former American Fibers and Yarn Building. A vote on the sites is expected at the Jan. 10 Board of Supervisors meeting, Carter said.

“There’s still a lot of work ahead.”

The fourth tower will go in Massies Mill but the exact location hasn’t been discussed yet.