Underground Construction - December 2022 - 21

ed Mears Group, a community-focused
construction infrastructure contractor.
To incorporate essential input into
every project, Bluepeak and Mears
representatives work closely with local
community members before breaking
ground. A key part of this engagement
involves hosting forums that help residents
understand the scope of the project,
construction impacts during project
development and the benefi ts the project
will provide, once completed. Th e meetings
also allow community members to
get their questions answered, and to provide
insight and input that ensures the
project best fi ts their wants and needs.
In addition to meeting with community
leaders, Bluepeak and Mears strive
to minimize community disruption. Th is
involves developing construction plans
that properly anticipate and communicate
any activities that may impact community
members, such as planned outages
or road closures due to construction.
" When we're in the neighborhoods,
we want to be good neighbors. Not just
their construction partners...it's one big
team, " explained Deason.
To further enhance community engagement,
Mears makes it a priority to
hire locally. To this end, Mears works
with staffi ng agencies or hosts job fairs to
hire talented operators to work on projects
that directly impact their own family,
friends, neighbors and community.
Being a good neighbor and building
community partnerships is what sets this
fi ber connectivity project apart from others.
In particular, the project in Perry has
a seemingly never-ending knot of community
ties. When Bluepeak partnered
with Mears as its construction contractor,
it was only fi tt ing to use Ditch Witch
machines - a legendary brand that has
had strong community roots, since it
started in Perry over 70 years ago.
" Working with Ditch Witch has
been great, " said Deason. " Anytime
that we've asked for anything, they've
stepped in. Th ey're truly part of the
Perry community. "
Being in Ditch Witch's hometown
brought a new level of excitement to the
endeavor. " Th e nicest thing about working
with Ditch Witch is the people, " said
David Owen, program director at Mears
Group. " It's just a bonus that the equipment
is really good. "
For Bluepeak installations, the Mears
team generally uses equipment on the
smaller side - like Ditch Witch's JT20,
AT30 and stand-on skid steers - so it
can easily maneuver through residential
areas without compromising power and
productivity.
Aſt er completing an installation,
Mears works closely with the local government
to ensure proper restoration of
the job site. In Perry, for example, Mears
laid 69,000 feet of underground fi ber optic
cable, all of which was covered when
the job was complete, making it seem
to the community and visitors that construction
had not even happened.
Room to grow
One of the many Perry community
members who has taken advantage of
Bluepeak's fi ber internet is Spencer
Tetik. As a motion designer and video
editor working for an agency based out
of Kansas City, he depends on fast internet
speeds to upload and download large
graphics or videos.
" With my previous internet provider,
speeds just weren't there, and it made
things a bit of a struggle. Sometimes
uploads or downloads would time out,
which made it challenging to do graphic
design work with subpar internet, " said
Tetik. " When I heard that Bluepeak was
coming, I immediately started looking
into it. With Bluepeak, I can upload and
download materials almost instantly.
It's done before I even have time to
think about it. "
Tetik lived in Kansas City for nearly
10 years before he decided to move back
to his hometown to be closer to family.
" Access to fast internet allows people
who work for bigger companies the opportunity
to work from smaller cities like
Perry - giving them room to grow and to
welcome diff erent kinds of people here
in town, " he said.
Th e fast, reliable internet capabilities
that Bluepeak and Mears have brought
to rural communities across the country,
have helped to keep them on the map.
Th e partnership has produced outstanding
results. Owen explained that
the eff ort is reaching an average of 5,000
households per month, with the capacity
to reach nearly 12,000 in warmer summer
months.
" Bluepeak really re-wrote the book
on speed-to-market. It's prett y impressive, "
said Owen. " Th ey are moving like
I've never seen a company move before. "
Not only are Bluepeak and Mears
able to bring fi ber internet to thousands
of rural households at an aff ordable rate
and fast pace, but they're doing so with
the community at the forefront of every
project. Th is has allowed for a smooth
transition to fi ber and ensured that this
critical infrastructure is easily accessible.
Bluepeak and Mears currently have
about four to fi ve years' worth of projects
in the pipeline, and it's only growing.
Th e opportunities these projects are
bringing to rural communities are truly
endless. UC
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Bluepeak, (888) 975-4258,
mybluepeak.com
Mears Group Inc., (281) 448-2488,
www.mears.net
Ditch Witch, (800) 654-6481,
ditchwitch.com
UCONonline.com | DECEMBER 2022 21
http://www.mybluepeak.com http://www.mears.net http://www.ditchwitch.com http://www.UCONonline.com
Underground Construction - December 2022

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