Yesterday, Pacific Power crews closed one lane of traffic as they replaced a damaged utility pole at 232 NE 82nd Avenue. A vehicle collided with the pole in the early morning hours of December 20th, snapping the wooden pole free at the sidewalk and cracking it in half.

Pacific Power received notice of the damage at 6:44 AM. The incident affected electrical service to a single customer, and crews restored service soon after 10:00 AM. An area resident noted on Facebook that a similar incident demolished the same utility pole in 2015. Tom Gauntt, Spokesman at Pacific Power, did not have records extending back to that prior incident but noted that 82nd Avenue utility poles often suffer similar vehicle collisions.

Within 12 hours of its reported damage, crews replaced the utility pole, restoring power to a single city streetlight on the west side of 82nd Avenue. The linemen minimized the disruption to commuters, only closing the outermost northbound lane of 82nd Avenue. Unfortunately, due to its location at the entrance to Wendy’s Restaurant and within inches of the curb, this price of infrastructure may suffer the same collision again. Fortunately, the wood utility pole is relatively easy to replace, and this junction point serves just one customer.

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Title photo and other image as noted by Weston Ruter. All others, copyright Montavilla News.