A collaboration between the Daggett School District, Utah Department of Transportation, Utah Education & Telehealth Network, and Strata Networks has resulted in the completion of an extensive 68-mile fiber-optic project that connects Daggett County schools, health clinics, and communities to their network. STRATA issued a press release about the 2-year project stating that the focus of the project was to connect the schools in Manila and Dutch John: “Utah students and educators, patients and physicians should have access to the best technology no matter where they live,” said Utah Education & Telehealth Network CEO Ray Timothy. “Broadband is a necessity to promote growth in communities, business, tourism, education and healthcare.” Speaking during the Daggett Fiber Completion Celebration, Lynne Yocum, UDOT Fiber Optics Manager…explained to the audience that with the new fiber connections, UDOT will be able to install cameras and weather sensors along the route to gather real time information that will aid in public safety and perhaps save lives and “get to our zero fatality goal.” …Due to the coordinated efforts of many groups, the Daggett Fiber Project was completed in an astoundingly short time, ahead of schedule and under budget. Additional benefits from this project include a fiber connection at the beautiful Flaming Gorge Dam and improvements in cellular coverage (4G LTE) along this route due to fiber connectivity…Dave Ryan, STRATA Networks Plant Design Manager, stated, “The terrain and remote nature of this project provided a challenge that was difficult to overcome.” The majority of the route for this project was mountainous with much of the work taking place above 8000 feet elevation. Roughly 40% of the route was in rock or solid rock conditions requiring the use of a 100,000-pound rock saw, cutting a trench roughly 54 inches deep, for secure placement for fiber conduits. Ryan further stated, “It reminds me of those early cooperative members, forging ahead with the construction of telecommunications infrastructure in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. In the face of significant challenges, both then and now, STRATA’s crews stepped up to connect lives. As an organization, that’s what we do. We connect lives. This project is something our crews can be proud of for many generations to come.”
