35 cuts too many for fiber optic project

Snow and ice exacerbated a contractor’s job and prompted Jasper officials to freeze the installation of a new fiber optic lines for a local manufacturer.

Lewen Line Construction was hired by Windstream Communication to install fiber optic lines for Kimball International. The lines are being installed to assist Kimball with communication with a facility it owns in Kentucky.

Lewen has been working on Mill Street cutting into the recently paved area to conduct directional boring to run the new lines. Unfortunately, as the weather moved in on Friday, Lewen was forced to backfill the holes they had a cut and closed up shop to wait out the weather to return to work.

Over the weekend, Jasper police were contacted several times by drivers concerning one of the digs located at the intersection of 15th and Mill Streets. Just before midnight on Saturday night, an on-call street department employee went out to repair the dig.

The calls surprised city officials by the amount of digs the new line called for and the fact that three such digs had already taken place on Mill Street and those digs involved the contractor cutting through the recently paved street.

As officials examined the issue, it became apparent that the scope of the project and the amount of the digs required to complete it had not been properly indicated on the plans submitted for approval. According to City Engineer Chad Hurm, although the contractor had been issued a right-of-way permit for the installation of the fiber optic line, the plans presented to the city for approval did not show the full extent of the cuts that would be made to complete the project.

The Jasper Board of Public Works met with representatives from three entities involved in installing the new line — Ron Beckman for Windstream Communications, Coy Sampson for Lewen Line Construction, and Larry Hawkins with Kimball International — during their regular meeting on Tuesday.

Mayor Seitz said the cuts create challenges because the city wasn’t aware of all of the cuts that had to be made and some of those cuts were being made into freshly refinished streets. He also stated due to the time of year, the contractor would not be able to purchase hot-mix to refill and patch the cuts and would likely require repairs in the spring or summer.

“I am disappointed that the cuts have been made without our knowledge, one cut caused problems on 15th Street recently,” Mayor Seitz said. “Planning is critical because residents will ask why these cuts are happening to recently paved streets.”

Sampson explained the plans had not listed every dig because the locations could have changed as the contractor was completing the work. “It was kinda a rush contract so we went ahead and got permits and wanted to submit the cuts as we went and knew where the cuts need to be,” Sampson said.

Eckerle said he counted 17 sidewalk cuts and 18 street cuts throughout the city running from Newton Street to Kimball’s Headquarters on 15th Street.

Street Commissioner Raymie Eckerle told the board the plans were not very accurate and had mislabeled utility features around which the contractor would be cutting, digging and boring to install the new line. “The plans listed a cut on a sidewalk but where it was on the plan isn’t a sidewalk it’s a culvert,” Eckerle explained.

Board member Tim Bell asked how the city could ensure the contractor would repair the cuts up to the city’s standards once warmer weather returned and hot-mix is available again.

The board asked the contractor and Windstream Communication to resubmit plans that more accurately depicted the cuts and plans for installation of the fiber optic. “We will work with the contractor to help them determine the best locations for cuts to keep them to a minimum,” City Engineer Chad Hurm explained.

“We just need to be on the same page so that they can do what they need to do and we can protect what we already have in the ground,” Eckerle said.

Chad Hurm stated he felt this situation may cause the city to examine its procedure for approving these types of digs by utility providers.