SOUTH LYON, Mich. (WXYZ) — Residents of South Lyon's Hidden Creek neighborhood are frustrated as AT&T fiber optic installation work is disrupting their utility services and annual coordinated holiday light display just weeks before Christmas.
Watch Christiana Ford's video report:
The neighborhood is known for its elaborate red and green tree decorations that draw visitors from across the area. But this year, construction equipment, dirt piles, and utility flags are overshadowing the festive atmosphere.
"This is a big time for our subdivision. We all celebrate it big time," said Jill Graham, who lives in the neighborhood.
Around 130 homes make up the community, and many of them participate. Sandra Pogue, another resident, says it all started around 25 years ago.
"Just brings a lot of joy to not only us who do it voluntarily on our own time, wrap these big trees, but for people who come in from outside of South Lyon,” said Pogue.
She says while decorations still look beautiful, the construction materials, flags, and holes in the ground are detracting from the display.
The AT&T fiber network installation began last week, and residents say it has already caused multiple utility disruptions. Graham described the situation as "chaos," noting that power, internet, and water services have all been accidentally impacted.
"They've been kind of tearing up our whole subdivision. They've cut the majority of people's preexisting internet, they've cut my electric dog fence, I think. Knocked out one of the water pipes in our subdivision for a little bit of time," another resident, Leigh Phoenix, said.
Residents are particularly concerned about hosting holiday gatherings while the work continues.
"A lot of people are looking forward to having friends and family over, and they're afraid that if this project continues right up through the holiday, that they're going to lose power, they're going to lose internet, they're going to lose hopefully not water again," Pogue said.
The timing of the project has left many residents questioning the decision.
"I don't know if we drew the short straw or what, and I don't know who thought it was a good idea to start this project just weeks before Christmas, but it just has everybody so curious about why, why is it happening now," Graham said.
The interim city manager and a state lawmaker told 7 News Detroit that the timing decision was made by AT&T, not local officials.
AT&T did not directly address questions about the timing but provided a statement saying the company strives to minimize disruption to residents:
As we work to bring high-speed fiber internet to more communities, we strive to minimize any disruption on residents. In this case, our contractors are only performing work during daytime hours and moving through individual sections of the subdivision at a time. We understand the community’s concerns and appreciate their patience while we complete this project.
Additional:
- Residents with questions or concerns about our fiber expansion work can contact us at 877-780-5422.
- The Dec. 12 incident resulted in damage to a single property’s water line, and not the neighborhood’s water main. This has since been resolved.
- Our contractors are trained to obtain proper permitting, follow local construction codes, and abide by rules governing rights-of-way and property easements. In cases where property damage does occur, we expect and strongly encourage the company responsible to assess the situation and to work directly with those affected to address the matter fairly and equitably.
Despite the disruptions, residents say they're determined not to let the construction ruin their holiday spirit.
"We all need our internet, but to do it right before Christmas is just kind of bad timing, AT&T," Pogue said.
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