Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Port LaBelle Main Electric Line Cut For 2,400 Homes

Underground Cable Drilling Company Cuts Line

LABELLE, FL. -- Power has been cut for about 2,400 homes and businesses in the Port LaBelle, Florida area. Florida Power and Light has a crew on the way to investigate.

At about 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, in near darkness, a crew of a about a dozen men were boring horizontal conduit lines underground along Birchwood Parkway in Port LaBelle to install new conduits for power lines when the rig hit the main electric power line that connects all electric lines north of State Road 80, and south into Eucalyptus Village in Port LaBelle.

Affected are Hendry and Glades county residents in Port LaBelle's Laurel Oaks Village, Eucalyptus Village and the Port LaBelle Ranchettes as well as the Port LaBelle Inn, marina, and condo and town houses at the marina.

The out-of-state drilling crew, from Jade Horizontal Directional Drilling from Massachusetts, began work on installing underground conduits Tuesday. The new lines will run along Birchwood Parkway.

Update:  FPL restored power to all sections by about 8 p.m. by rerouting power to a different line pending repair of the damaged underground line. The drilling crews left the area, presumably to take a look at the damage situation during daylight hours, while a subcontractor from FPL began digging an 8 foot trench at Springview Circle to find the broken electric main line.

While the intention was to drill underneath roadways in Port LaBelle, as is required by the Community Development District, the line break required tearing up the roadway at Springview Circle, where someone will ultimately be required to repave the road intersection to like new condition.

Video: Construction At Birchwood Parkway Cuts Power Line

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