Dunn County Board grants Russian Slough easement for 24-7 Telcom fiber optic cable
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
MENOMONIE — Fiber optic Internet service in the northeast quadrant of the Town of Tainter took another step closer with the Dunn County Board’s approval of a Russian Slough easement for 24-7 Telcom.
24-7 Telcom is seeking permission to have an easement through Russian Slough Park and for boring under the river to install fiber optic Internet cable, said Brad Schmidtknecht, an engineer with 24-7 Telcom, at the Dunn County Board’s July 26 meeting.
Other options have been considered for reaching that part of the Town of Tainter, and this is the best option, he said.
Schmidtknecht said he had contacted the state Department of Natural Resources about boring under the river.
Both the entry and exit point for the fibre optic cable are considered uplands and not wetlands, so the DNR has no concerns, he said.
The boring will involve a 900-foot bore 10 feet under the river for the fiber optic cable, Schmidtknecht said.
Michael Rogers, county board supervisor from Menomonie, and chair of the facilities committee, which recommended the easement be granted, asked Schmidtknecht to explain why it is important to have the easement.
The initial design for providing fiber optic Internet service to the northern part of the Town of Tainter involved installing the cable along state Highway 25, but that is a longer and more expensive route, Schmidtknecht said.
Another option was to install the cable across the county Highway D bridge. Boring is not an option there because there is too much rock and the river is deep, he said.
24-7 Telcom does not want to do aerial installation because the company does not have the staff or the equipment to maintain the cable. All of 24-7’s fiber optic cable is buried, Schmidtknecht said.
When Schmidtknecht contacted Dustin Binder, Dunn County highway commissioner, Binder had said that the county preferred not to have the fiber optic cable on the bridge.
“And we prefer not to be there,” he said.
Another option was to install fiber optic cable along state Highway 170, but that would add $150,000 of cost to a project that is already over budget because of inflation increases, Schmidtknecht said.
Therefore, the option at the Russian Slough is the best option, he said.
The environmental impact will be minimal. A small pit will be dug for the drill to start the boring process under the river, but when the fiber optic cable is installed, the pit will be filled in, and any disturbed areas of soil, both for the pit and for the installation of the fiber optic cable along the park road, will be restored with whatever grasses or other kinds of seed that Dunn County requests, Schmidtknecht said.
Larry Bjork, county board supervisor from Menomonie, asked if boring at the Russian Slough would have an effect on the Tainter Lake Rehabilitation District’s plans, which could include dredging.
Schmidtknecht said he had not heard about any plans for dredging and that the majority of the fiber optic cable would be installed in road right-of-way.
Installation of fiber optic in the Town of Tainter is one of the grant projects for bringing broadband Internet service to the rural areas of the county.
In 2022, 24-7 Telcom was awarded eight grants through the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, which administered American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds distributed to the state, to bring broadband to rural Dunn County.
According to information available from the PSC, the eight grant projects in Dunn County for 24-7 Telcom amounted to $9.15 million and required $9.15 million in matching funds.
24-7 Telcom’s ARPA grant awards in Dunn County include projects in the Towns of Elk Mound ($1.4 million), Lucas ($857,635), Menomonie ($1.07 million), Red Cedar ($1.48 million), Spring Brook ($794,935), Stanton ($1.51 million), Tainter ($1.44 million) and Weston ($616,285).
The 24-7 Telcom grant projects in Dunn County will bring fiber optic Internet to more than 2,200 residences and 117 businesses, according to the PSC.
The Dunn County Board unanimously approved granting an easement for 24-7 Telcom to install fiber optic cable through Russian Slough Park and under the river.
