I-55 CABLES WILL ADD TELEPHONE COMPANY

A telecommunications company that is installing fiber optic cables along Interstate 55 will compete with Southwestern Bell Telephone Co. for local telephone service.

At the same time, the Missouri Department of Transportation will have access to the cables through an agreement with the company, Digital Teleport Inc. of St. Louis.

Digital Teleport is installing the cables and offering the telephone service throughout Missouri through a 1994 agreement with the Missouri Department of Transportation.

"We gave Digital Teleport right-of-way to interstate medians, and they gave us access to five cables," said Tony Barnes, telecommunications specialist with the transportation department.

Digital Teleport has already completed fiber optic cable installation in the Kansas City and St. Louis metropolitan areas, and much of Southwest Missouri, including the Springfield area.

"We are currently installing the cable in the Cape Girardeau area," said Mark Ivie, vice president of marketing with Digital. "We'll continue cable installation south of Cape Girardeau to Memphis."

A directional boring machine is used to lay the cable. "The machine allows us to go beneath the ground to avoid some obstacles and prevent disrupting certain areas of ground."

The cable availability will be of importance to department, said Barnes. "It is an important phase of the department's Intelligent Transportation System.

"It will enable us to install cameras along the interstate at strategic points," said Barnes. "It will help in traffic counts, and we can also place sensors for other purposes along the route."

The cables can be used to help rush-hour traffic flows in metropolitan areas move more smoothly, cutting down on auto emissions of idling vehicles. The cables will enable the transportation department to control traffic signals in heavy Kansas City and St. Louis traffic.

"Our telecommunications service could be available in Cape Girardeau within two to three months," said Ivie. "We'll be working from Cape Girardeau north first, then work south to the Arkansas state line."

"Southeast Missouri is one of the final areas to get the service throughout the state," said Ivie.

Ivie, a native of Sikeston, is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in marketing.