Small copper wire causing big phone problems

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Inside a cable, copper wire looks nice and shiny. But copper wire dug up by construction crews can look like a disaster. A disaster Frontier Communications General Manager Dave Sorg said left 4,000 customers without landline phone and internet service Friday morning.

"It was probably one of the worst cable cuts I've ever seen in my 30-year career," said Sorg.

The cable cut occurred when construction workers working on the Yeager Road and Cumberland Avenue roundabout project accidentally dug up 200 feet of fiber optic cable.

Sorg said about half of that service was restored by about 2 a.m. on Saturday.

Yet, Sorg said the repairs are far from over. Now, they must fix the copper wire that was hit, which is a bit more difficult.

"The copper cable is covered with paper and it's not color-coded," said Sorg. "Because it's an older cable, because it's not color-coded, I can't just simply take one side of the cable that was cut and put it together with the other side of the cable."

Sorg said crews are working 24/7 to fix the problem but he said it's a tedious one. Every two copper wires equals one customer.

"We've brought crews in from all over the state and all over the Midwest, the very best people that we can find to come in," said Sorg. "They are working in crews of about seven to eight, 24 hours a day. That will go on until it's completed."

Sorg said it could cost about $500,000 to repair all of the damage.

West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis said with every construction project in the city, they go through a process of locating underground power lines, gas lines and electrical lines before they start digging.

"It's a process that has worked very well for this city and for this community," said Mayor Dennis. "In reality, that's the process that we follow. As to say why it didn't work this time, I couldn't answer that."

Mayor Dennis recommends that residents who might be in need of medical attention on a regular basis have a safety plan in place, just as you would for a natural disaster. He said doing so can help everyone stay safe, should something like this happen again.

Mayor Dennis said as of now, he's not sure who will be footing the bill for this incident. Yet he said, it will not come from taxpayers' money.

He does not believe repairing the cables and wires will effect the date of completion set for the Yeager Road Roundabout.