The Contractor’s Employee Will No Longer Have Digging Responsibility After Cutting Internet To Thousands In West Delray Beach, West Boca Raton, Twice, In Two Weeks.
BY: STAFF REPORT | BocaNewsNow.com
DELRAY BEACH, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2021 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Palm Beach County contractor responsible for cutting an AT&T fiber optics line — incredibly twice in less than two weeks — has reassigned the worker responsible for the splice.
Senior Palm Beach County officials tell BocaNewsNow.com that the worker was responsible for two massive internet outages in West Delray Beach and West Boca Raton. One fiber cut disconnected internet from thousands of customers in the middle of the day — keeping distance learners and remote workers offline for 12 hours. AT&T scrambled to repair the fiber optics lines that run under Lyons Road, between Clint Moore and Atlantic. That was May 20th.
Then, on June 1st, it happened again. The same construction worker, apparently incapable of using the digging equipment he was assigned to use, again sliced AT&T’s fiber optics cable. It knocked the same homes offline for as long as seven hours while AT&T again scrambled to fix the line. Repairing fiber optics lines is challenging, high-tech work, and not the same as repairing old coaxial cable lines. The process takes hours, and requires highly skilled technicians.
Palm Beach County didn’t name the specific contractor — or the contractor’s employee — but confirmed it was the same person both times. The contractor is responsible for paying AT&T for the repairs, and now faces fines from Palm Beach County.
The stretch of Lyons Road between Atlantic and Clint Moore is undergoing a massive construction project that will expand the road to four lanes for the entire stretch. That means bringing the road closer to major communities, including Mizner Country Club, Seven Bridges, The Bridges, and Stone Creek Ranch. The cost is expected to exceed $11M.
