California Aqueduct Reach 2B O’Neill Forebay Verizon Fiber Optic Line Repair

Verizon requests encroachment permission to repair its existing fiber optic service line located in the Department of Water Resources right of way. To repair the line, a Verizon contractor will first excavate an approximately 1,400-foot long by 4-foot wide by 4-foot deep trench to expose the existing handholes, trace wire, duct, and fiber optic cable. Once the trench is dug, the handhole at the northern end of the damaged line and the handhole at the southern end will be removed and replaced with new ones. The existing duct, trace wire, and damaged cable will either be removed and disposed of or left in place. A new high density polyethylene (HDPE) duct and a trace wire will be placed in the trench, and new concrete covers will be placed over the new handholes. The trench will then be backfilled and compacted, but the areas over the concrete covers will remain exposed as access points for the installation and splicing of new fiber optic cable. After the trench is backfilled, new fiber optic cable will be installed by removing the cover over one of the handholes, placing new cable into the duct and pushing it through to the other end. When the new cable is in place, the concrete cover will be placed over the handhole until Verizon personnel can do the splicing. Verizon will remove the covers, and the ends of the new fiber optic cable will be spliced in each handhole, joining them to the existing, undamaged portions of fiber optic cable. When the splicing is complete, the concrete covers will be placed over the handholes and the area over the covers will be backfilled, compacted, and recontoured to match the original topography.