Morrisonville Construction workers implement rodding for improved Verizon internet cable infrastructure on Church Street. (Enterprise photo — Kevin Shea)

SARANAC LAKE — A portion of the shore of Lake Flower was prepared for grass and trees, and pipes under the streets elsewhere in the village were checked for when Verizon places fiber-optic cables at a later date.

Morrisonville construction workers implemented the process of rodding through pipes underneath Church and Pine streets on Thursday. The technique involves threading a long metal rod from one manhole to the other. This ensures that nothing is blocking the underground tunnels. The metal rod is unfurled from an enormous spool. The metal rod is slightly thicker than an adult thumb.

Verizon will return at a later date to place the cable under the streets and potentially increase the connection strength.

On the shore of Lake Flower, beside Riverfront Park, the State Department of Environmental Conservation surveyed the preparation of a portion of the shore. Dirt was laid and flattened, preparing for the layering of grass. The DEC is restoring an area that last year was a staging area for dredging old, toxic chemicals from the bottom of the lake’s Pontiac Bay.