Verizon Utility Work In Bethesda Not Quite Finished

Intersection of East-West Highway and Wisconsin AvenueTurns out the Verizon cable replacement work that clogged up a central Bethesda intersection wasn’t quite finished when trucks briefly left the area earlier this month.

This weekend, Verizon trucks and workers were back on Wisconsin Avenue between Montgomery Avenue and East-West Highway, where lane closures led to surprise delays for some drivers.

Verizon Maryland spokesperson Sandra Arnette, who told us on May 6 that crews had finished replacing an 800-foot water-damaged cable that evening, said yesterday that crews had to come back over the weekend basically to check their work.

Pairs in the cable, which are not color-coded, must be matched and back-tested, Arnette said. She said copper cables, which are under Wisconsin Avenue, typically take longer to repair than fiber cables.

“This is a time consuming and labor-intensive process,” Arnette said.

Four customers without cable service over the weekend should have had their service restored by this morning, Arnette said. Because businesses were closed over the weekend, Arnette said Verizon workers could not access some buildings to test the lines.

She didn’t say what prior notice had been given to Montgomery County. The work in early May lasted for more than a week and caused the closure of two lanes of northbound Wisconsin Avenue in one of Bethesda’s busiest intersections.

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