Streetcar construction in downtown Milwaukee hasn’t been without glitches. A contractor damaged an underground telecommunications line for AT&T, which affected internet, landline and wireless services.
Some area businesses were left without Internet and phone service after workers on Broadway Avenue damaged a utility line Wednesday.
Construction crews this week have been pouring concrete and laying track along St. Paul Avenue, and are also doing some excavation work on nearby streets and installing foundations for the streetcar’s power system poles.
An AT&T spokeswoman said Wednesday that the company was working to restore services to customers.
“Some of our facilities were damaged by a crew doing construction in the Milwaukee area,” spokeswoman Samara Sodos said. “Services are starting to restore now and we will continue to work until all customers are restored. We apologize for the inconvenience.”
Pizza Shuttle and other businesses in the area have been impacted.
“Financially, it’s affecting us in the tens of thousands. We’re a very busy pizza restaurant. We’re not receiving any orders via phone,” Mark Gold with Pizza Shuttle said.
Officials with the City of Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works described the construction mishap Monday, May 22nd as follows:
“As with any public works project, the contractors we hire perform due diligence in identifying locations of utilities within the construction zone. Unfortunately, despite the best precautions, an underground telecommunications utility was accidentally damaged.”
The statement said crews would continue to work to ensure all customers are restored.
Ghassan Korban, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of Public Works, said in a statement that, as with any public-works project, contractors hired to perform the work do their due diligence in identifying utility equipment within a construction zone.
“Unfortunately, despite the best precautions, an underground telecommunication utility was accidentally damaged,” he said in the statement. “The contractor is coordinating with the utility to get the line repaired as quickly as possible.”
The $124 million streetcar project kicked into high gear this spring. The pieces of steel that will make up streetcar’s tracks were delivered on March, and crews began laying tracks in April.
Work on the 2.1-mile downtown loop and 0.4-mile lakefront line is expected to wrap up in late 2018. Omaha, Neb.-based Kiewit Corp. is overseeing construction.