LONG BEACH, MS (WLOX) -
Call before you dig is a phrase that Long Beach wishes more contractors would take to heart. Long Beach officials say crews working for utility companies have caused so much infrastructure damage the city budget is taking a hit. Now aldermen are considering new rules for utility companies.
Drivers endured nearly a year of construction to get Jeff Davis Avenue looking good after it was heavily damaged in Katrina. However, city officials said the brand new road has already needed some repaving after a utility company contractor dug up a section and hit a sewer main.
Mayor Billy Skellie said, "You have something that you took a number of years to try to get correct and make it as nice as possible, and now you have a patch job. We have several cases right now that the city is out nearly $40,000 that was not budgeted where we're taking care of where a contractor damaged."
On White Harbor Road, city officials said a utility crew damaged water and sewer lines right before the street was to have its final paving. Then after the paving, Long Beach officials said a crew dug holes in the road. Another water main was damaged on Church Street. Officials said with all the damages, the city has had to eat all the repair costs.
"It just kills us. When you have a new street, new infrastructure and you have a utility company or their contractor damage or destroy different parts of your infrastructure, then the city has to eat it at this point," said Mayor Skellie. "I mean we're going to try to recover it. But right now we have to front it because we had to get it back in service and restore it. So that stresses our budget."
Long Beach officials said they don't want to have to keep doing expensive patch jobs to their newly paved streets so right now the city is looking at ways to prevent the damage from happening.
"We're looking at a possibility of an ordinance that the utility company or the construction company would have to come to us before they do any digs. Show their plan and get a permit," Mayor Skellie said. "So we would be aware of where they were, who is there, and what they're planning on doing."
On Tuesday, the board of aldermen is set to discuss a possible new ordinance requiring utilities to get a permit. The mayor says if the a permit is required, there won't be a fee.
Copyright 2011 WLOX. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2012 WorldNow and WLOX, a Raycom Media Station. 