Cable falls on I-80, closing lanes

A Comcast cable line fell on I-80 Friday, completely closing eastbound lanes at 700 East and westbound lanes at 1300 East for a few hours.

Utah Highway Patrol troopers began allowing traffic to pass in both directions on I-80 early Friday afternoon with only intermittent closures, said UHP spokesman Cameron Roden.

A crew using a boom truck to work on the sound barrier alongside the interstate hit the line, knocking it down, said Utah Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Thompson. It is unclear, Thompson said, who the crew was working for.

Motorist Danny La told the Deseret News he saw the boom truck backing up with a worker directing it shortly before the line fell.

"They were moving the sound barrier … and they snapped that cable," said La, who believes his car was struck by the falling line. La said his car was not damaged.

Comcast spokesman Ray Child said the crew that cut the fiber-optic line was not employed by the company. He said the incident affected telephone, cable and Internet services for customers in Grantsville, Kearns, Tooele, West Valley City and portions of Rose Park.

He said service was restored to all customers around 6:30 p.m. Friday.

— Geoff Liesik