USDA-RUS ReConnect Expansion Project

Here is an update on our USDA-RUS ReConnect Round 1 project.

In May, we were officially awarded a USDA-RUS ReConnect at a Virtual Press Conference with US Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and US Senator Debbie Stabenow. It was a really great event that announced our award of $10.7 million for our build out of a number of areas including: Mill Lake, Duck Lake, Schermerhorn Lake, Osterhout Lake, Saddle and Silver Lakes, Jeptha Lakes, Scott Lake, North Lake, Pine Grove Township, Arlington Township and some other areas. The project is spread over 100 square miles and will extend broadband service to approximately 7,700 residents.

We have been held up a little moving this project forward this summer due to environmental concerns over a couple of threatened or endangered species. The big one is the Eastern Massagua Rattlesnake which apparently has some habitat around this area. I know when I ask people about it they are VERY interested but it’s pretty rare to talk to people who have actually seen or dealt with that rattlesnake. There are some other species that we need to be careful with as well including the Karner Blue Butterfly, Mitchell’s Satyr Butterfly, and the Northern Long-Eared Bat.

We were able to request special clearance from the USDA-RUS to allow us to get started with the initial engineering design of the BIG project before the final environmental clearance is granted. The design phase is where they literally draw lines on a map to represent how we would build the fiber to provide service. We hope that we are able to get the design work done fairly quickly which will then move into the “staking” work. Staking is where the engineers drive every inch of the project looking for trees, rocks, ditches, culverts, waterways and other things that would impact how the project would actually get built in the real world. After that, the engineering folks would tabulate all of the results and put together a bid package to go to prospective contractors. We are hoping that this will all get done this fall and that we can get the bids back and a contractor lined up to start early next spring.

We are anticipating the BIG project to be multi-year project that gets built in 2021 and 2022 with the final customers getting hooked up by the middle of 2023. Obviously, there is a lot to do with this and we won’t be determining areas that gone done in what order until all of the engineering and contract work has been done. At that time, we would be working with the engineers and contractors to figure that piece out.

We know that not all areas are covered and that it will be quite a while for this whole process. Please know that if your area is not covered . . . even if it is very close to an area that is. . . it is probably because the FCC Coverage maps show that your area was covered by adequate service. Those weren’t our decisions or rules. We have tried the best we can to find opportunities to be able to build fiber to the home to customers in rural Van Buren and Allegan Counties and we will continue to do that. Unfortunately, Frontier and others have coverage maps that may not accurately reflect the service at people’s homes.

We are VERY EXCITED to be moving forward with this project. Please let us know if you have questions or concerns. We will be working in the very near future on rolling out information to people in the ReConnect areas so that they understand the process, our products/services/pricing, and how the project will be progressing. In the next month or two, we would love to come to a Lake Association or other meetings (like perhaps some informal road side chats) with property owners from the areas we are coming to.

Service Interest Form: https://bdc.elation.biz/Buildout/

8 thoughts on “USDA-RUS ReConnect Expansion Project

  1. Rick Kahl says:

    It looks like it but I cannot tell. Does this go down 27 1/2 street Gobles. Right by North Lake pine Grove township

    • Janeen Horton says:

      Hi Rick,

      Yes 27 1/2 street just southeast of North Lake is in the ReConnect area. We invite you to fill out our ReConnect Interest form if you have already done so. We will be using customer’s email addresses to keep them updated on the project status.

      Thank You,
      Janeen Horton
      Assistant General Manager
      Bloomingdale Communications

  2. Thomas Smith says:

    Was wondering when service could be expected to be available at 21878 47th street, Bloomingdale 49026 ?

    • Janeen Horton says:

      Good Morning Mr. Smith,

      Our crews are still working in your area. Please give us a call at (269) 521-7300 to ensure that we have your best contact number and/or email address so when we are ready to schedule your installation appointment we have the best number to reach you at.

      We look forward to hearing from you soon!

      Thank you,
      Janeen Horton
      Assistant General Manager
      Bloomingdale Communications

  3. Mike Moulter says:

    Hi I live on 106th west of 46th I see the fiber is ran past 106th on 46th I was wondering if there is any plan on bringing it down 106th or not
    Thank you for your time

    • Janeen Horton says:

      Yes we are running fiber down 106th Avenue west of 46th; please contact our office (269) 521-7300 so we can verify the availability of the fiber to your exact location.

    • Janeen Horton says:

      Thank you for your inquiry. Sections of 29th Street are within our ReConnect round 1 project. We are currently in the process of engineering the project. We hope to start this project in the Summer of 2021, but this project is estimated to take 2+ years to complete. Long story short unfortunately we do not have an exact time as to when construction will begin in your specific area of the project. We hope to have more of a detailed timeline once our engineering is completed. Please feel free to fill out our service interest form to stay up to date on the progress of the project.

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