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Wasco officials receive progress update on citywide fiber‑to‑the‑home project
Summary
City staff and the project team told the council the build is concentrated in the southern distribution areas, with DAs 9 and 13 expected to be active this month; crews are performing potholing, conduit placement and temporary restorations while a restoration tracker and shared folder will provide updates for council and residents.
John, a project representative, told the Wasco City Council at its evening meeting that the citywide Fiber‑to‑the‑Home project is being built in smaller blocks called distribution areas, or DAs, so customers can be activated as each area is completed.
The presentation said the project team has divided the city into 16 DAs. Work is focused first on the southern part of town — DAs 13 and 16 — and the team expects DAs 9 and 13 to be live by the end of the month after conduit placement, splicing and testing. John said conduit placement in DA 13 is 89 percent complete as of the presentation and that handholds are being installed before fiber splicing and testing.
The council was given details of the construction sequence and restoration process. John said crews use a locate crew to identify utility corridors, then potholing (hydro‑excavation) to expose exact utility locations, followed by drill crews to bore and install conduit. He said restorations are being performed by a separate handhold crew and that temporary asphalt “cold patch” is used to make areas safe until final restoration can occur. "If we need to, we can pull it back up. That's not a permanent fixture," John told the council.
John listed streets where restoration work has started in DAs 9 and 13, naming Snapdragon Drive, Orchid Lane, Prairie Rose Way, Christina Court, Granada Way, Tuscany Way, Sequoia Drive, Olive Court, Cedar Avenue, Birch Avenue and Eleventh Street. He described the concrete restoration approach — preparing areas, scheduling inspections, and pouring full truckloads of concrete to reduce cost and speed completion — and said signage and door hangers are being used to notify residents of upcoming work and contact information.
Council members asked for and were told the project team has established a shared folder with maps and an Excel tracker that staff and the contractor will update. John said he would add council members to the shared folder so they can access the DA map, project tracker and the restoration tracker.
Why it matters: the buildout will bring fiber service to selected neighborhoods in phases; residents in active DAs will be able to receive service sooner than if the city waited to finish the entire network. The presentation also emphasized public‑right‑of‑way restoration and resident notification to limit disruption.
The council did not take a formal vote on the presentation; staff said they will continue to update council members through the shared folder and at future meetings.
