Connexion Construction
Keeping Our Community Up to Date
After years of thoughtful planning and community feedback, the City of Fort Collins is building your community-driven and community-owned broadband utility. This exciting new service is bringing gigabit-speed internet, phone and video service to all residents and businesses throughout Fort Collins, continuing a long tradition of innovation and excellence.
Construction began in February 2019 and full build out is underway in neighborhoods across the City. While it will take 2-3 years to complete the installation of our 100% fiber-optic network, Connexion is turning on new service in neighborhoods weekly!
How Can I Identify Connexion Construction?
Connexion crews can be easily identified by the “Connexion Approved Contractor” signage on vehicles and City contractor badges. If you have questions about a crew working in your neighborhood, please call Customer Support at 970-207-7873.
What You Might See When We Are In Your Neighborhood
Locates
You may see professional locator crews identifying utility lines in your neighborhood. Physical “locates” will either be water soluble (or water solvent) paint marks that wash off over time or flags in the ground.
It is important that we know where existing utilities are so we can avoid them during the construction process. The flag or paint markers ensure that any work done does not negatively affect power, water, stormwater, natural gas, communications or other utility lines. Please keep in mind that the flags may be there a few weeks prior to work actually being done.
Water-soluble paint usually dissolves within 6 weeks and solvent paint can take up to 5 months on average to dissolve. Please do not remove the markers from their locations. It may seem harmless to remove a locate flag to mow your lawn, but if these are gone it could mean a power outage, water line leak, or more issues. Locates flag may be in place for up to 30 days. If you are unsure if a locate flag has been in place for too long, please call the Utility Notification Center of Colorado (1-800-922-1987) to see if it is safe to remove. For additional information about locates, please contact Colorado 811. A simple hose-down should get rid of these markings once Colorado 811 clears removal.
If you are a property manager or homeowner’s association board member, please take a look at our HOA page for details on how to locate on private property or get in touch with us.
Safety and the Right of Way
Construction Work
You may see large vehicles or heavy equipment driving in your neighborhood to provide materials and support the construction crews. It may be necessary for crews to leave the Equipment or Vehicles on-site overnight or over the weekend. Our crews have protocols in place if this is required:
- Notify the homeowner whose home the equipment is parked in front of.
- Surround with safety fence.
- Fence off equipment left on jobsite with orange safety fence and place cones or barricades.
To ensure your safety, it is very important not to approach or touch the equipment or vehicles.
We request that the public maintain a safety perimeter of at least 30 feet from vehicles and areas of work. If you have questions or concerns about vehicles or equipment in your neighborhood, please call Customer Support at 970-207-7873.
Directional boring is a low-impact way to install and connect underground utilities such as pipe and conduit. It is an alternative to the traditional construction method of trenching where crews open up large areas of ground for installation.
Directional boring crews use equipment to drill a small hole in an area to open space in the ground for the conduit. Then they pull the conduit through that same hole without impacting the area above the borehole.
Research shows that this is a less disruptive and more efficient process for our community!
These areas are designed to allow the City to build and maintain streets, curbs and gutters, storm sewers and underground utilities. A right of way (ROW) may include curbs, sidewalks, and grass. All Fort Collins utilities run through these areas and the broadband network will be added to follow the same path.
Crews will be installing fiber vaults to contain fiber equipment in some yards. These are boxes that sit underground so you will only see the top of the box upon completion, similar to how you see the top of a Light & Power cover. Often the fiber vaults will be co-located next to existing utilities for minimum overall impact.
Post Construction
Lawn Restoration
Our goal throughout the entire construction process, is to be as minimally invasive as possible and return your property to its original state. Following construction work, crews will restore landscaping and clean up after themselves when finished.
If your lawn or sprinkler system is affected by construction, please call our Customer Support at 970-207-7873 and we will take care of any resodding and/or sprinkler repair.
If you have recently had sod replacement as a result of Connexion work, it’s important to follow these simple steps to ensure your new grass grows healthy and strong:
- Water daily for the next 10-14 days, (subject to weather). The area should be moist to a depth of ½” to 1” but do not let puddles form.
- Keep foot traffic to a minimum until the first mowing. Wait at least 14 days or until the new grass is at least 3” tall before mowing.
If at any time you have questions or concerns regarding restoration, please call 970-207-7873.
What’s Next?
This is the first in a multi-step process to build the Connexion network. From start to finish, we estimate 6 to 9 months before service will be ready to order for your home. We will reach out to neighborhoods directly when we are ready to sign up customers for service. You will receive an email and a postcard once service is available. If you have not yet signed up to receive emails, click here.