Port’s cable project goes out to bid

The Port of Whitman County’s $11.8 million project to expand access to high-speed fiber optic internet connections is moving forward.

The agency put out a call for bids for firms to manage the installation of fiber optic cable between Spokane and Clarkston. The cable would run through Whitman County, linking several towns to broadband cable.

Executive Director Joe Poire said they hope to select a contractor by June 10 with construction beginning in mid-July.

The port originally hoped to have the project started by the first of June, but the call for bids was delayed by staff changes in the project’s engineering firm, CHR Solutions, of Mitchell, S.D.

Poire said the bad weather has reduced impact of a delayed start.

Funded through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the cable will run along state highways to bring high speed service to Rosalia, Oakesdale, Tekoa, Garfield, Palouse, Pullman, Colfax, Colton and Uniontown before hitting Clarkston.

The port hopes a fiber optic network will attract private providers that could hook up rural homes and businesses with high-speed service.

The Whitman County section is part of a Northwest Open Access Network project to expand broadband to rural Washington state. NOANet, based in Tacoma, received $135 million in federal stimulus funding this year.

The overall project will place fiber optic cable from Spokane to Walla Walla through Lewiston. Stimulus funding timelines require the project be completed in the next two years.

Initially, the fiber will be used to connect medical clinics and libraries to high-speed internet, increasing their ability to use and share online information.