Brookhaven has temporarily halted Google Fiber installations following safety issues, Mayor John Park announced. The city cited a gas main rupture near an elementary school during school hours as the latest in a series of troubling incidents tied to the project.
What’s Happening: A citywide stop work order was issued on Dec. 14 after a gas line was struck during Google Fiber’s installation. While Google Fiber had complied with utility marking regulations, inaccuracies in these markings have contributed to frequent utility damages.
Who Made it Happen: Mayor John Park authorized the stop work order to reassess safety measures. He acknowledged that while Google Fiber has been cooperative, public safety must be prioritized.
Why It Matters: The stop work order aims to prevent further utility disruptions and protect residents. Previous incidents of utility strikes have caused significant disruptions, with this latest one being particularly alarming due to its proximity to a school.
What’s Next: Limited non-digging activities, such as cable splicing and testing, have been allowed to resume. Digging and directional boring remain on hold until Jan. 6, contingent upon several conditions:
• Successful use of ground-penetrating radar.
• Improved coordination with existing utilities.
• Thorough utility reviews conducted with city oversight.
• Completion and restoration of previously affected areas before new work begins.
Park emphasized that while the city cannot bar the installation of Google Fiber as a utility, it will enforce stringent safety measures to protect the community.
Full Statement: The full statement from Mayor Park is below in its entirety.
“Last Saturday, Dec. 14, the City of Brookhaven issued a citywide stop work order for Google Fiber in response to safety concerns following the rupture of a gas main next to an elementary school during school hours.
This was not the first incident that has come up in the Google Fiber installation in Brookhaven, by far. It also won’t be the last. While the myriad of complaints about landscaping is annoying and troublesome, the issues of one utility routinely hitting other utilities are dangerous and extremely disruptive. While Google Fiber has followed the law in regard to requesting utility markings, it just has not been enough. A huge factor in the number of hits has been the accuracy of the markings provided by the other existing utility locators.
I authorized the complete stop work order so we can assess the means and methods to ensure public safety and that unnecessary impacts to City residents are avoided moving forward. The problem with a complete stop work order is it stops everything. In addition to digging and boring, it also stops installation, testing, repair and clean up.
Google Fiber, to their credit, has been attentive and responsive to the City’s concerns. Conversations about how to minimize impacts going forward are taking place and I feel like we are making progress.
In the spirit of this progress, and the safety around the jobsites that are underway, the City of Brookhaven is allowing certain activities to continue while best practices moving forward are still being ironed out.
Effective immediately, the following activities will be allowed to resume in the right-of-ways throughout Brookhaven:
- Google Fiber can resume all activities that are not associated with direction boring and / or digging of any kind (i.e., pulling cables, splicing, testing, restoration, with an emphasis on restoration).
- Directional boring and / or digging of any kind shall remain under the stop work order mandate until at least Monday, Jan.6, and the following conditions are met:
- The use of ground penetrating radar has proven to be successful in avoiding existing utilities and has been incorporated in operations.
- Improved coordination with other existing utilities has been established.
- The Brookhaven Public Works Director meets with Google Fiber and contractors to emphasize the need for a thorough utility review prior to digging.
- Additional information about the overall project is provided to the City of Brookhaven.
- Moving forward, GF shall submit for approval the areas where new directional bores and / or digging will take place. New areas will not be approved until prior areas have been completed and fully restored.
In closing, the City of Brookhaven does not have the authority to preclude the eventual installation of Google Fiber as a utility. However, we can and will use every measure to ensure the health and safety of all Brookhaven residents and visitors as the installation proceeds.”
— Mayor John Park
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
