The California Department of Transportation has approved the award of two preconstruction services contracts to a Flatiron-led joint venture of Flatiron and LTS Managed Technical Services (Ledcor) to create middle-mile broadband infrastructure in the USA.

The project aims to provide high-speed broadband services to households and enterprises, as part of the Caltrans' Middle-Mile Broadband Network initiative to improve access to education, health services and employment opportunities to unserved and underserved communities. 

The project in District 5 concentrates on serving communities in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties. The construction team will encounter difficult rocky soil conditions in nearly half of the 208-mile route. The District 2 project aims to serve communities in Lassen, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, and Tehama counties. The 250-mile route includes 48 bridge crossings, such as the Pit River Bridge over Lake Shasta, and requires challenging installation through sloping rocky terrain and proximity to Rock Creek Reservoir Dam.