Overview
This document is the second of two reports that explore the potential for the use of rural Interstate Highway corridor rights-of-way for the deployment of fiber optic cable and/or wireless communication infrastructure, across multiple States linked by the Interstate Highway system. The first document, the Rural Interstate Corridor Communications Study: Report to Congress, was submitted to Congress on August 18, 2008. This document, the Report to States, provides a summary of study resources available to the Corridor States to begin the process for possible deployment of high-speed telecommunications (HST) in the corridors in question.
As part of the task to develop the Report to States, a preliminary backbone alignment plan for telecommunications has been developed. The report, a White Paper on the Preliminary Backbone Alignment, is included as an appendix to this Report to States. This preliminary backbone alignment report presents information related to the development of preliminary telecommunication infrastructure, alignments, and other supporting material developed by the study team to be utilized by the corridor States in the future. It addresses issues of constructability, scheduling and maintenance, environmental considerations, and utility accommodation policies.