The project to repave the roads around MCCC’s campus was delayed for three weeks due to an issue obtaining asphalt from a service plant, and a fiber optic line being hit, causing $300,000 in damages.
The initial project started on Aug. 14, according to the contract between MCCC and Asphalt Specialists, Inc.
The repaving of the roads was supposed to begin on Sept. 30 but was delayed until Oct. 7.
Jack Burns, director of campus planning and facilities, said the issue of obtaining asphalt occurred when the company wanted to pave on a Sunday. He said local ordinances prevent the types of trucks that carry asphalt from traveling on certain roads on Sundays. Raisinville Road, where MCCC is located, is one of the roads with that restriction. Burns said this caused them to move the project back to the following Saturday, delaying it for a week.
While working on the roads around campus, Asphalt Specialists, Inc. hit a fiber optic line on Aug. 22, between the H Building and the Career Technology Center. This incident did not cause any issues with the campus data or the internet.
John Wyrabkiewicz, MCCC’s chief information officer, said the college has two fiber optic lines in case an incident like this occurs.
“If one gets hit, all data continues to flow on the second ring,” Wyrabkiewicz said in an email.
Burns said the company ruptured the jacket around the fiber optic line.
“There’s a protective metal jacket around the line, and what the construction company did was pull it out of the ground and broke that jacket,” Burns said.
Edd Sidney, project engineer at Asphalt Specialists, Inc., said they did not see the clear markings on the road.
“The markings were on the other side of the road where we thought they would originally be,” Sidney said.
Wyrabkiewicz said Asphalt Specialists, Inc. will need to replace almost all of the fiber in the ring.
“On a positive note, the college had informed the contractors of the fiber being present,” Wyrabkiewicz said in an email. “Thus, the cost of repair shifts to the contractor, not the college.”
Wyrabkiewicz said the company started repairing the fiber optic line on Nov. 1.
“There is approximately a month to a month and a half worth of work to get the fiber installed, terminated, and tested before the work is completed,” Wyrabkiewicz said.
