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Town staff to present TDOT fiber‑sharing agreement for SmirNet redundancy at council meeting
Summary
Staff described a proposed agreement to share TDOT‑owned fiber along I‑24 and routes installed under the town’s ITS projects to create redundancy for traffic signals; council members asked technical questions about 'dark' fiber and private versus shared use.
Town staff briefed the Town Council workshop on a proposed agreement with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to share TDOT‑owned fiber as part of the town’s SmirNet traffic network, intended to create redundant connections for traffic signals.
Staff explained TDOT installed fiber in the I‑24 corridor between the Sam Ridley and Amherst Road interchanges as part of the I‑24 Smart Corridor project, and the town has installed fiber along Lee Victory and Sam Ridley as part of ITS phases 1 and 2. The proposed agreement would allow mutual use of fibers so that a break in one route would not isolate signals further down the corridor.
A councilmember asked whether the arrangement referenced “dark fiber,” and staff responded that the term refers to unused fiber strands and that Carl (staff member) had additional technical knowledge. Staff clarified the fiber is a private direct connection between town sites, not publicly shared infrastructure. No formal authorization was recorded during the workshop; staff said the item would be included on the upcoming council meeting agenda for authorization.
