Commuters on U.S. 54 had an unexpected, 20-minute delay Wednesday morning for installation of new fiberoptic lines. And officials with MoDOT and the technology company doing the work disagree if the proper people were notified.
Traffic on all four lanes of U.S. 54 were blocked for as long as 20 minutes Wednesday morning when fiberoptic lines were strung over the four lanes of highway in the area between Shepherd Hills Road and Route C/Ellis Boulevard.
Officials with Show-Me Technologies in Marshfield said this was a standard procedure where one of their contractors was pulling the line across the highway. They said the proper people were alerted, and authorities blocked traffic for safety.
Officials at MoDOT said law enforcement was contacted before the work began, but the company did not contact MoDOT officials so they could get word out to the public that the closing was going to take place.