Buildout delayed for sections of Grant PUD fiber optic network

EPHRATA — Delays in material delivery and obtaining permits mean some customers will wait longer than anticipated to hook up to the Grant County PUD fiber optic network.

Russ Brethower, senior manager of wholesale fiber for the PUD, said Dec. 8 some sections that were supposed to be finished by the end of 2020 will be delayed into 2021.

The plan was to have from Cave B to Beverly Burke Road, in the Quincy area, completed by the end of the year, but it will only be partially completed, Brethower said. Currently, fiber optic is available along part of Silica and Baseline roads, as well as a section along Road 1 NW, but the rest of that line has to cross Interstate 90. The PUD has applied for the necessary permits from the Washington Department of Transportation, Brethower said, but they haven’t arrived yet.

Crossing the freeway will require some underground drilling, he said, while other lines will have to be strung above the road. Once the freeway’s been crossed the rest of the work shouldn’t take long, he said.

Some of the area around the South Ephrata substation was completed by Dec. 8 and the rest should be done by Dec. 31, Brethower said.

The section around Road 9 NW and Highway 283, near Quincy, was scheduled for completion by Dec. 22. That piece has been delayed to about Feb. 15, he said.

The PUD received a $810,000 grant to help pay for a section on Gloyd Road, north of Moses Lake. The section had been scheduled for completion by the end of the year, but it’s been delayed to mid-April 2021, Brethower said.

The COVID-19 outbreak had an affect on the schedule, Brethower said, especially in November. The bigger problem was shortages in equipment, but he didn’t specify further.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.