Relocating Fiber from the Wallace State Office Building

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Working on Wallace Building Fiber Optics

The future demolition of the Wallace State Office Building in Des Moines has set in motion a complex infrastructure project for the ICN: the relocation of critical fiber optic connections. This is not an easy undertaking, since numerous circuits run through the building to other structures on the Capitol Complex.

Multi-Phased Approach

Started in February 2025, the project includes a multi-phase plan to ensure seamless continuity of service. As the project has progressed, government agencies and state employees have relocated to other office spaces around the Capitol Complex, with the last agency relocating out of the building on July 1. The preparations of the infrastructure moves have been a phrased approach and have included:

  • Phase 1 - Rerouting the network traffic feed currently coming from the Wallace building to a new location.
  • Phase 2 - Decommission a section of fiber optic cable that runs into the Wallace building. This requires reconfiguring circuits and migrating the traffic it carries to a new, more efficient route.
  • Phase 3 - This is the current phase where ICN will install a new section of conduit from the Wallace building to a centralized location. We will pull new cables through this conduit to provide a network connection to the State parking garage.

From engineering plans and GPS data to fiber locations and panel reports, this is all detailed work that goes into moving fiber and circuits around for the Network’s critical infrastructure, so government users can continue to provide services to Iowans. Much of the work completed so far includes:

  • Fiber Rerouting: Technicians re-spliced fiber optics at multiple locations. This was done one circuit at a time to allow for immediate verification of service restoration.
  • Verification: As the work is being completed, ICN Network Operations Center (NOC) is in constant communication with the on-site team to verify that all alarms have been cleared and that key services, such as camera feeds and various State government circuits, are restored before moving to the next step.
  • Clean-up and Finalization: Once all circuits are successfully migrated, the team completes clean-up and splice closure work, ensuring the integrity of the new connections.

As the work enters its final phase, our goal continues to be keeping services up and running without interruption. Through careful planning, phased implementation, and continuous verification, the team is successfully decommissioning ICN's presence in the Wallace State Office Building while maintaining critical connectivity for state agencies on the Capitol Complex.