Crews Complete Clear Creek Canyon Wireless Service Project
GOLDEN, Colo. (CBS4) - State transportation officials announced on Wednesday the completion a project that opens Clear Creek Canyon up to cell phone service.
The Colorado Department of Transportation says they worked with a wireless infrastructure provider to lay down fiber optic lines along Highway 6 between Golden and Black Hawk.
The new fiber optic lines feed antennas that will allow all cellular companies to provide service. CDOT said Verizon's cellular and data service is already up and running.
The system will also allow for CDOT traffic cameras and electronic signs to be installed in the canyon, something that hasn't been available until now.
"Providing cell phone coverage into this area enhances safety by eliminating a historic blind spot for CDOT, the Colorado State Patrol and other emergency service providers who didn't, until now, even have radio coverage," CDOT Regional Transportation Director Tony DeVito said in a prepared statment.
Emergency response in the canyon will also be enhanced with the system, which will allow for two-way radio traffic.
CDOT worked with a company called Crown Castle International Corporation on the project, and say they saved the state millions through the partnership.
The highway was closed on weekdays for several weeks in the spring and summer while the fiber lines were being laid down.
