Oregon DOT halts 20 fiber permits under new data center freeze

Internet connectivity projects in Oregon have stalled as state officials pause work on twenty fiber optic permit applications. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) froze the applications following an executive order by Gov. Tina Kotek that restricts data center development on state properties.

Kotek signed the order in September, instructing state agencies to stop approving new leases, easements, and right of way permits for data centers located on state lands. ODOT officials are now reviewing twenty pending applications to determine if the proposed infrastructure is directly tied to data centers.

Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for the transportation agency, said the department has limited insight into the final purpose of these projects. He noted that the agency did not set a deadline for companies to respond to inquiries. Glenn stated that timing depends on the proposers.

In an email, Glenn explained that the applications involve installing large amounts of buried broadband or fiber conduit along highway shoulders. He said this configuration strongly indicated a potential connection to data centers. The agency asked the companies to describe their projects to clarify their association with the restricted facilities.

Three companies hold the paused applications. These are Zayo Group Holdings, a Denver based firm, Lumen, a multinational corporation, and Intermountain Infrastructure Group, a California based operator. All three own large scale fiber optic networks that connect data centers and other information processing facilities across the West.

Zayo completed a 622 mile long haul fiber route in 2025 that links data centers in Prineville and Umatilla to Reno, Nevada. ODOT paused nine of Zayo's permits. These permits cover cable laying along highways from Morrow to Multnomah counties and between Wheeler and Clackamas counties.

Lumen owns six data centers in Oregon, with locations in Portland, Eugene, and Bandon. The department paused nine permits for Lumen to lay underground cables from Wasco to Umatilla, Baker, Lincoln, Linn, and Malheur counties. Intermountain does not own data centers in the state but has been building a fiber corridor across the Pacific Northwest. Two of its permits to expand into Umatilla County are now on hold.

The Data Center Coalition, an industry group, said the pauses burden companies that followed state rules. Khara Boender, the coalition's West Coast director of government affairs, said the move creates uncertainty for work that was already in process. She stated that pausing agency work midstream sends a concerning signal to companies weighing long term investment in Oregon.