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Economy

I-74 Bridge Carries More Than Vehicles Over the River

submitted
/
Mediacom Communications
Credit submitted / Mediacom Communications
/
Mediacom Communications

A recent accident gave Mediacom a chance to show it's prepared to move fiberoptic lines quickly, with minimal interuption in service. Last week, the company's crews fixed and re-located a major section of cable from the I-74 bridge to an underground tunnel.

Phyllis Peters, Medicom's Communications Director, says the accident happened in a construction zone for the new Mississippi River bridge. The back end of a dump truck snagged a fiberoptic cable and pulled down poles coming off the existing I-74 bridge. She says Mediacom employees fixed the problem overnight in about 4-and-a-half hours.

That section of fiberoptic line was part of a cable re-location project set to begin next month, in coordination with dismantling part of the old I-74 bridge. So, it got done a little early due to the accident.

Peters says Mediacom leases space from Illinois and Iowa DOT's. The bridge carries the company's cable over the Mississippi River from a "headend" in Moline to serve the Iowa Quad Cities area.

Soon, she says customers will receive notices in the mail about next month's project to move more of Mediacom's cable from the old bridge to new, underground locations. As the new bridge is built over the next couple of years, the company will continue to improve service and increase capacity as it completes re-location of its cable.

Economy
Officially, Michelle's title for 28 years was WVIK News Editor. She did everything there is to do in the newsroom and whatever was needed around the radio station. She also served as Acting News Director from September 2023 - January 2024.