Township, fire company considering PUC complaint against Frontier for crash response
KAYLEE LINDENMUTH / SHENANDOAH SENTINEL - Frontier Communications crews work on utility lines near Lakeside Beverage on Route 54 on March 13, 2023.
BARNESVILLE – Frontier Communications’ delayed response to repair infrastructure and reopen a state highway Sunday was discussed at Monday’s Ryan Township Supervisors meeting.
Jack Hurst, assistant chief at the Ryan Township fire company, thanked the township’s road crew for their assistance in closing Route 54 between Dollar General and the post office after a truck crash downed utility lines.
The crash happened around 5pm Sunday, and the roadway didn’t reopen until midday Monday, forcing the Mahanoy Area School District to move to virtual instruction for the day.
Frontier’s lines were laying across Route 54 at Lakeside Beverage, and the Norwalk, Connecticut-based utility company did not respond promptly for repairs, which caused the extended road closure.
Route 54 is a state highway and a critical link between the Tamaqua area and the Mahanoy Valley.
“It’s not the first time that they’ve let things go,” Hurst told the supervisors, adding that his fire company is planning to file a complaint with the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission and asked the township to do the same.
Supervisors Vice-Chairman Clyde “Champ” Holman said it took two years for Frontier, which has a maintenance facility in Barnesville, to repair a downed pole on Tuscarora Mountain Road.
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