The installation of
fiber-optic conduit on North 15th Street, underneath the Norfolk Southern
and CSX railroad rights-of-way, was scheduled to begin on Monday, but the
winter storm which knocked out power to tens of thousands in Northwest
Indiana put the kibosh on that.
So Chesterton Town
Engineer Mark O’Dell reported at Monday’s meeting of the Redevelopment
Commission.
All necessary
permits have been obtained from the two railroads and the work will be
re-scheduled as soon as possible, O’Dell said. When finally in the ground,
this last stretch of conduit will complete the main fiber optic ring in the
Town of Chesterton. A stub will also be sent north into the Town of
Porter--to provide fiber optic service to the town hall, the police
department, the public works building, and Yost Elementary School--but
negotiations are still under way with Amtrak, since the conduit will
similarly need to be bored under that railroad’s right-of-way.
At the moment, the
fiber optic network’s only live customer is the Duneland Schools, O’Dell
told the Chesterton Tribune after the meeting.
December Meeting
Because the
Redevelopment Commission’s meeting next month falls on Christmas Eve,
members voted unanimously to cancel the December meeting.
Should a
last-minute piece of urgent business emerge, the commission will hold a
special meeting after the statutory 48-hour notification.