An issue with severed Verizon lines in late November led to a temporary issue with service in the area.

Crews have been working on Main Street of Bradford this week to resolve the problem, with no further service issues expected.

According to David Weissmann, Verizon’s East area consumer media relations representative for Pennsylvania, New York and various other regions, there was an incident where “cables were cut in Bradford a couple weeks ago.”

This occurred around Nov. 20. At that time, a temporary fix was implemented to restore service to customers. Customers in the area saw a return of service in a matter of hours. Recent work has been to complete a permanent fix for the issue, which is expected to be in place next week. “Any interruption to service occurred before the temporary fix was put in place, and no further interruption is expected,” Weissmann said.

Contrary to rumors, Weissmann noted the issue did not have a far-reaching impact. Also, while Weissmann denied that costs for the repair were in the millions, he did not give a specific cost range for the repair.

According to Sara Andrews, executive director of the Office of Economic and Community Development, the issue arose when an unmarked Verizon line was hit by Hoffman Landscaping, the contractor installing trees for the Main Street Streetscape project. This contact occurred despite completion of the required “PA One-Call” for utility markings, which was done prior to tree installation as is required.

“To our knowledge, Verizon did not mark the location of the line,” Andrews said.