Oregon Pauses 20 Fiber Permits Following Data Center Land Use Freeze

The Oregon Department of Transportation has placed at least 20 state right-of-way permit applications on hold. These applications belong to fiber-optic companies seeking to install underground conduit along state highways. The suspension follows a September executive order by Governor Tina Kotek that directs state agencies to pause approvals for data center leases and easements on state properties.

Agency officials are currently verifying whether the paused projects are specifically tied to data centers. Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for the department, stated in an email that the agency lacks full visibility into the ultimate purpose of the proposed networks. He noted that the timing of the review depends entirely on the companies that submitted the proposals.

Glenn explained that the applications involve the installation of large amounts of buried broadband or fiber conduit, typically located along highway shoulders. He said this configuration strongly indicated a potential connection to data centers, prompting the agency to ask the firms to describe their projects in greater detail.

Three companies control the 20 paused applications: Zayo Group Holdings, Lumen, and Intermountain Infrastructure Group. All three operate large-scale fiber networks that connect data centers, cellular providers, and other information processing facilities across the western United States. None of the companies responded to requests for comment over the past two weeks.

Zayo, based in Denver, completed a 622-mile long-haul fiber route in 2025 linking data centers in Prineville and Umatilla to Reno, Nevada. The transportation department paused nine of its permits. These permits cover cable laying along highways spanning Morrow, Multnomah, Wheeler, and Clackamas counties.

Lumen, a multinational firm with data centers in Portland, Eugene, and Bandon, has nine permits on pause. These allow for underground cable installation from Wasco to Umatilla, Baker, Lincoln, Linn, and Malheur counties. Intermountain Infrastructure Group, based in California, does not own data centers in Oregon. It is building a fiber corridor across the Pacific Northwest slated for completion this year. Two of its permits for expansion into Umatilla County are currently suspended.

Khara Boender, the West Coast director of government affairs for the Data Center Coalition, said the pauses create uncertainty for projects that have followed standard state procedures. She stated that halting agency work midstream sends a concerning signal to companies considering long-term investment in Oregon. Boender argued that the delays put at risk the jobs, tax revenue, and community benefits these projects are designed to deliver.