MTA Cuts Cable; Hundreds Lose Phone Service
MTA workers digging a subway station in Hollywood hit two underground telephone cables this weekend, shutting off phone service to as many as 2,400 customers.
Full service was expected to be restored by noon today.
Workers for Shea-Kiewit-Kenny, the MTA’s contractor for the Red Line, were digging the foundations of the station at Hollywood Boulevard and Western Avenue when they drilled through the cables around 3 a.m. Saturday, MTA spokesman Steve Chesser said.
Chesser said the MTA had thought the cables were not in use, and was checking to see whether it was given inaccurate information.
Pacific Bell received 350 “trouble reports” from customers, spokeswoman Linda Bonniksen said. And “it doesn’t matter if the lines are live or dead. . . . We don’t want our facilities damaged in any way, whether they’re live or not,” she said.
The Red Line project has been plagued by setbacks, and Hollywood Boulevard has been a particular trouble spot. In August, tunneling caused parts of the boulevard to sink by as much as nine inches.
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