SUNDRE — Although Xplornet Communications Inc. was as of last week unable to publicly release more details about the new broadband fibre optic high speed internet service the telecommunications company is deploying in town, construction has visibly been progressing.
“We are full bore and the project is going ahead on our end,” said Graham Fleet, Xplornet’s senior manager for government and public relations.
“They’ve got significant trenching already dug up on the east side of Sundre,” Fleet said on Tuesday, Aug. 17 about Lethbridge-based contractor Cross Cut Directional Boring.
Residents on the east side of the Red Deer River north of the Main Avenue-Highway 27 corridor have seen crews busily installing conduits, while people in the northeast subdivision on the west side of the river received notices last week about the impending work.
The construction notice tells residents, business owners and commuters to expect:
• Temporary single lane closures, as required for workplace safety.
• Horizontal directional drilling and vibratory plowing installation techniques.
• Vacuum excavator truck(s) for visually identifying existing buried utilities.
• Access to homes and businesses will be maintained at all times.
• Access for fire department and emergency responders will be maintained at all times.
Once the infrastructure has been completely installed, Sundre will finally be connected to the 21st century as a gigabit community able to offer vastly higher download speeds than are currently available.