The Virginia Marine Resources Commission granted authorization so a new submerged fiber optic cable can be installed under the York River between Yorktown and Gloucester Point, during its Dec. 10 meeting at VMRC headquarters in Newport News.

Commission spokesman John Bull said that Metro Fiber Networks, Inc., sought approval to install the cable by directional bore and jet plow method beneath 4,115 linear feet of the York River, approximately 1,000 feet upstream from the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge.

The fiber optic cable will provide additional connectivity to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science campus at Gloucester Point, Bull said, as well as to some residents of Gloucester Point.

VMRC staff recommended approval of the request, Bull said, with a royalty of $12,345, for the encroachment of the line beneath 4,115 linear feet of state-owned subaqueous bottom at a rate of $3 per linear foot.

On a separate matter, the commission vot...