A contractor accidentally severed a shallow phone cable near the Administration building last Tuesday morning.
“It took out [phone service to] the P.E. Quad, the Child Development Center, Environmental Studies and the Science Center,” Donna Jones-Dulin, director of college services, said.
The accident shut off phone service but not power or other essential systems.
A utility pathway runs underneath the asphalt, connecting different parts of the campus. When previous contractors laid the phone line, they had to work around the pathway.
“Sixteen years ago, instead of going underneath it, they went above it,” said Fortunato Lucas-Zuazua, who works at De Anza College in the education technology services department.
When Semans, the current contractor for De Anza, cut through the asphalt and concrete, it also cut through the conduit containing the cable because it was so close to the surface the contractor was repairing.
“It was an inch and a half below the surface,” Lucas-Zuazua said.
As of press time, Josie Hernandez, call center support technician, said that repairs were expected to be done by Monday, if not sooner.