Phone-line snag snarls downtown Youngstown sewer project

YOUNGSTOWN — North Phelps Street between West Federal to West Commerce streets, closed since Feb. 4 for a major sewer project, will reopen Friday, but not because the work is done.

Actually the work on that downtown street has come to a standstill.

That’s because workers discovered AT&T cable lines under that section of the street were not where maps of utility lines provided to the city showed them to be, said Mayor Charles Sammarone.

“The AT&T markings weren’t accurate, and that wasn’t learned until digging started,” he said.

In a letter to city officials, John P. Pierko, vice president of MS Consultants Inc., the Youngstown firm overseeing the downtown project, wrote: “We do not have a definite response from AT&T to commit to a schedule at this time. However, it is anticipated that coordination and design of the relocation will take a minimum of 60 days.”

The $1 million project has already been a headache for some downtown businesses.

The project replaces a major sewer line on Phelps between West Federal to West Commerce streets — the replacement of a pedestrian walkway between West Commerce and West Wood streets — and ends on Lincoln Avenue.

For the complete story, read Friday's Vindicator and Vindy.com