Pittsboro has shut down all Google Fiber construction across town after crews struck underground gas and water lines three separate times within two workdays, following earlier concerns about the contractor's work. The townwide stop-work order landed Monday afternoon, and by Tuesday morning inspectors were finding more trouble at the work sites themselves: unfilled holes, open vaults, and cable left lying out in the open.
According to chapelboro.com, the order came after three utility-line strikes across two workdays. A gas line broke in the Chatham Forest subdivision Friday, Oct. 23, shutting down work for the rest of that day. Then on Monday, Oct. 26, another gas line broke in Chatham Forest and a water line broke on East Street, prompting the town to pull the plug on construction everywhere.
Field inspections conducted Tuesday morning turned up even more problems, with staff finding unfilled holes, open vaults, and cable left out at multiple sites, the outlet's report notes. Hyper Networks, described by wral.com as the third-party company handling the installation, was directed to send crews around town over the following 24 hours to clean up the sites, fill holes, and close vaults, per the town's statement reported by chapelboro.com.
A Pattern That Predates This Week
This isn't the first time Pittsboro has had to slam the brakes on the project. As reported by the News & Observer, the town notified residents back on Sept. 18 that it was already aware of concerns about the Google Fiber contractor's work. By Oct. 8, Pittsboro had issued two separate stop-work orders covering the Chatham Forest subdivision and Beacon Drive, after a water main broke on Beacon Drive that same day. The town also issued Google Fiber and its contractors a third corrective action notice on Oct. 8 and said at the time that it monitors construction activity and compliance with approved standards.
The three utility strikes after those Oct. 8 orders were the gas-line breaks on Oct. 23 and Oct. 26 and the water-line break on Oct. 26, the incidents that prompted the town to widen the stop-work order townwide. Pittsboro has directed Google Fiber and Hyper Networks to investigate the strikes and build a safety-improvement plan, and the town is requiring additional safety education and reinforcement for the contractor workforce. The town also held a safety meeting with Hyper Networks this week, the News & Observer reported.
Conflicting Timelines On When Work Can Resume
Accounts differ on exactly how long the shutdown will last. The wral.com report states the order will remain in effect until at least Monday, Nov. 2, when the town is scheduled to meet with a Google representative. Chapelboro.com, however, reported that the town said this latest order will remain in effect through the end of the week. The News & Observer adds that Pittsboro will hold a public meeting with Google Fiber representatives outside town hall on Nov. 2, starting at 7:30 a.m., to review the utility strikes and determine whether construction can continue.
Google Fiber said it takes incidents and feedback seriously and aims to resolve issues quickly, per the statement cited by wral.com. The News & Observer reported it had requested comment from both Google Fiber and Hyper Networks and was awaiting responses as of publication.
Not An Isolated Problem For North Carolina Towns
Pittsboro's headaches echo a broader pattern playing out across the state. Forty percent of utility-line damage reports in North Carolina last year were related to fiber installation. The outlet's archive coverage also notes that construction crews working on a separate fiber project from Brightspeed caused gas leaks, power outages and property damage in the Chatham Forest neighborhood, leading Pittsboro to issue a stop-work order against that company too over what it called ongoing and repetitive damage to private properties and public utilities. The town eventually allowed Brightspeed to resume work in April after meetings addressing residents' concerns. Durham has taken an even harder line in the past, once refusing to issue AT&T any new work permits until complaints were corrected, wral.com reported.
Google Fiber's construction troubles aren't confined to North Carolina, either. In Georgia, the City of Brookhaven ordered a citywide stop-work order on Google Fiber after a crew struck a gas main near Montgomery Elementary School, according to wsbtv.com, which forced school officials to place the school on lockdown while firefighters responded. A Google Fiber spokesperson in that case said the company follows local guidelines, including locating existing utilities before beginning work.
For now, Pittsboro residents are left waiting to see whether the cleanup crews, safety reviews, and upcoming meeting with Google representatives will be enough to get fiber construction moving again — or whether more line strikes will keep pushing that timeline back.
