Expanding the Fiber Network at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) called on Gresham Smith to design for the installation of new fiber optic cable in select areas of its campus. The project adds to the existing fiber optic network and extends a fiber optic trunk to the east boundary of the campus. The new cable system will serve several facilities and provide critical pathways as well as redundancy for the spallation neutron source (SNS) facility. It will also replace functionality due to partial damage of existing facilities in the energy systems test complex (ESTC) area as well as a direct data link with the SNS facility. The design will create a demarcation point east of the boundary of the ORNL campus to provide a controlled entry point for service providers to enter the campus. This portion of the project is designed and structurally modeled to accommodate future 13.8kV primary power to the east entrance of the campus.

Adhering to Department of Energy and ORNL standards and design criteria, Gresham Smith and facility managers of the campus fiber network and electric facilities operated seamlessly to design, manage and construct a successful network addition. Gresham Smith was able to provide solutions for material lead time difficulties, provide pathway solutions involving underground pathways and City of Oak Ridge coordination, as well as construction inspection and technical advisory support to ORNL and the general contractor.