City will bill fiber- optic company for sewer collapse

After six months, $ 50,764, and much haggling between the city of Columbus and a fiber- optic company, the intersection of Oak Street and Washington Avenue just east of Downtown is open.

The intersection had been closed since May 16 after crews discovered a collapsed clay sewer line underneath, which created a 25-by25- foot sinkhole. A city crew with a video camera discovered at least four fiber- optic conduits crossing through the storm sewer, which city officials said caused the collapse.

But because of a backand-forth between the city and the fiber-optic company about who was responsible, work to fix the hole didn t start until Oct. 30. The intersection finally opened on Nov. 17.

At issue is who is responsible for the damage and the cost of the work.

Citynet, a Bridgeport, West Virginia company, owns the conduits. Citynet argued that it acquired the conduits after they were installed and shouldn t be charged for the repairs.

But the city plans to bill the company anyway.

“Once a bill came due, we were going to seek compensation from Citynet,” Assistant City Attorney Andrew Miller said.

Neither Michael C. Mentel, the lawyer representing Citynet and a former Columbus City Council president, nor Citynet spokeswoman Kristen Heiser returned calls and an emails from The Dispatch this week.

Oak and Washington is not necessarily a busy intersection. But workers at the Motorists Insurance tower on East Broad Street use it to get to a garage and parking lot. Visitors to the Columbus Metropolitan Library s Main Library and the adjacent Topiary Park also use it, as well as the growing number of residents in the neighborhood.

Close to 5,100 vehicles passed along South Washington Avenue just south of East Broad in 2015. The last traffic count done closer to the intersection was all the way back in 1992, when 1,802 vehicles traveled along Washington just north of Oak.