Block Island Times

Town manager to monitor cable project

Town Manager Jim Kern will remain actively involved in the project that will re-bury the two undersea transmission cables that come ashore at Crescent Beach, and said a major concern still remains about the cable being out of service for perhaps weeks, which means high speed internet provided to the Block Island School, the Medical Center, and other town facilities, will also be shut down during that time. Kern updated the council at its meeting on Feb. 19. He also noted the tight timeframe for the project: October 2020 through May 2021, which is right up against the summer season.
Although the fiber optic cables won’t be “active for three weeks, there will be backup systems” for electricity, said Kern. “The second largest concern is making sure and having a comprehensive conversation on how to prevent the [construction] schedule from leaking into the summer,” adding “I will be involved in the rest of the process.”
Kern said he will be in communication with both Ørsted and National Grid, the two companies that own the cables. The process of re-burying the cables will involve re-drilling under the beach to bury both cables to

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