River Street broadband project in Dinwiddie delayed; company says service will be lit as serving areas are completed

Michael Brown, River Street project lead, told the Dinwiddie County Board on April 21 that the broadband build serving the county is part of a 19‑county fiber network and has been slowed by federal funding and contract timing.

"I'm not where I would like to be on this project from a scheduling perspective at all," Brown said, describing a project scope of about 705 miles and noting River Street has partially built roughly 52 miles and completed about 38% of the engineering work. He said the company recently submitted required paperwork to the NTIA/BEAD administrators and is awaiting contract release before full construction can proceed.

Brown said the build uses a hub-and-serving‑area approach: once a serving cabinet (optical splitter area) and central office equipment are in place, River Street will "light" that serving area and make service available to customers in that area. He also described two operational challenges: securing easements for remote service buildings and investor caution while the federal BEAD awards and matching requirements are finalized.

Board members pressed Brown about timing and customer experience. One board member said residents have had a box in front of their house for months with no service and called the situation "extremely frustrating"; another asked whether the work will be built all at once or lit incrementally. Brown replied the plan is to light service as each serving area is ready, not to wait to finish the entire county before turning customers on.

Brown also addressed the role of other technologies. He said low‑earth‑orbit satellite services increase choices for residents but can introduce latency that affects certain business uses; River Street is focusing on underground fiber for long‑term resilience, he said.

Board members asked about the project's dependence on a small portion of BEAD match funding. Brown said the local share tied to BEAD represented a small percentage of the overall financing for Dinwiddie but that investors consider the full package — match requirements and other funding commitments — when determining whether to advance construction. He said River Street believes it will be able to move forward and that construction activity could resume in May, but cautioned that a signed contract and investor decisions remain the immediate gating factors.

Next steps: Brown said River Street will keep county staff informed, and board members asked the company to improve direct communications with residents who inquire about timelines and service availability.