Midwest FiberPath Announces 1,200-Mile Multi-Conduit Platform Creating a Center-Noded, Multi-Direction AI Backbone Across the Central United States

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Feb. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Midwest FiberPath, LLC today announced plans for a long-haul infrastructure platform along a 1,200-mile, multi-conduit backbone engineered to support AI east-west/north-south traffic patterns, and next-generation carrier mesh diversity across the Midwest.

The new system establishes a four-direction architecture anchored in Iowa, via the exclusive railroad Right-of-Way of Hawkeye Land Company, a partner in Midwest FiberPath, positioning the region as a central aggregation node for emerging artificial intelligence and cloud-scale network fabrics. Designed with a carrier-neutral philosophy, the Midwest FiberPath platform enables dark fiber and future multi-terabit transport technologies.

A Center-Noded Architecture Built for AI Traffic Flows

The Midwest FiberPath backbone integrates three primary corridors into a unified long-haul topology:

• Joliet, IL to Des Moines, IA to Council Bluffs, IA — a multi-conduit route designed to support hyperscale east-west traffic fabrics between Chicago interconnection ecosystems and numerous Iowa compute campuses.
• Minneapolis, MN, to Des Moines, IA to Kansas City, MO— a multi-conduit north-south corridor enabling regional mesh diversity and alternative long-haul routing across the central U.S.
• Minneapolis, MN to Cedar Rapids, IA to Joliet, IL — a diagonal extension reinforcing Iowa as a center-node aggregation point for multi-directional traffic exchange.

Hyperscale-Ready Conduit Platform

Midwest FiberPath is developing the network as a multi-duct conduit system capable of supporting dense fiber builds and future capacity expansion without major corridor redevelopment. The architecture is engineered to address rapidly increasing demand for high-capacity wavelengths driven by AI clusters, and hyperscale data center campuses.

Key technical features:

• Multi-conduit design enabling diverse carrier deployments within a single controlled right-of-way
• Direct railroad corridor routing designed to minimize latency and optimize route efficiency
• Infrastructure engineered for open line systems and next-generation optical transport platforms
• Scalable pathway capacity supporting high fiber-count cables and long-term growth in AI traffic volumes

The Iowa center-node concept enables regional aggregation and redistribution of traffic across multiple directions, improving resilience and reducing congestion risks associated with legacy coastal chokepoints.

“In our current age, AI is going to continue to grow, and so will its infrastructure needs. As these continue to grow, the underlying infrastructure will need to drastically improve to accommodate this growth.” said Taylor Gates, IT Director at Midwest FiberPath.  “Our purpose-built architecture allows carriers and hyperscalers to deploy infrastructure with long-term flexibility while maintaining route diversity across one of the fastest-growing digital infrastructure regions in North America.”

Deployment and Partner Engagement

Engineering and route development plans are underway, with Midwest FiberPath actively engaging carriers, hyperscale cloud providers, and infrastructure investors to align deployment phases with projected demand for AI-scale bandwidth and long-haul diversity.

About Midwest FiberPath

Midwest FiberPath, LLC is a digital infrastructure company formed by Hawkeye Land Co. and Anderson Pacific Capital, LLC focused on building carrier-neutral conduit platforms designed for hyperscale and AI-driven network growth. By combining strategic rights-of-way with scalable multi-duct architecture, Midwest FiberPath aims to deliver future-ready infrastructure supporting next-generation optical networking across the central United States.

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SOURCE Midwest FiberPath