Air Force officers have proposed stringing a 225-mile fiber optic cable underground across northern Utah, connecting Hill Air Force Base with Dugway Proving Ground, Wendover Airfield and the Utah Test and Training Range.
The Bureau of Land Management is studying the request by Hill and will prepare an environmental assessment. The cable is intended to upgrade communications now handled by microwave. The plastic line, 11/2 inches wide, would cross private, public and military land."A 170-mile east-west section of fiber optic line would follow the Union Pacific Railroad right of way, connecting Hill AFB with the Wendover Airfield," said Terry Catlin of the BLM's Pony Express Area Office. At the railway siding of Clive, 60 miles west of Salt Lake City, the cable would branch off to the north and south, connecting with the training range and Dugway.
All parts of the cable would be placed within previously-disturbed areas adjacent to the railroad or along the shoulder of existing roads.
Anyone wishing to get more information on the proposal should contact Howard Headrick, manager of the Pony Express Area, by writing him at 2370 S. 2300 West, Salt Lake City, 84119, or by calling 977-4300.