Bridge Authority reaches deal to lease fiber optic cable on one of its 5 Hudson Valley spans

The state authority that operates five bridges in the Hudson Valley has signed a deal to lease fiber optic cable on one of the spans to a telecommunications company for a one-time fee of more than $500,000.

The New York state Bridge Authority says it will lease 48 strands of existing dark fiber optic cable over the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge to QCSTelecom, Inc. for about $535,000. The agency says the 10-year lease will allow the company to cross the Hudson River in a cost-efficient manner as it develops a regional telecommunications network for data transmission.

Authority officials say the lease will boost the agency's total revenue for dark fiber leases to more than $2 million. Dark fiber is a term for optical fiber cable that is in place but not currently being used.