Customers in West Maui, Molokai and Lanai were without cable television service for much of the day Friday, as crews worked to repair an aerial cable that was severed mid-morning Friday.
With one lane closed as crews worked on repairs at Mile Marker 7 near the pali, traffic was slowed on Honoapiilani Highway. Police said traffic was being allowed through the area in alternating directions, creating a backlog into Lahaina by early afternoon.
A main cable trunk was severed at about 10 a.m. Friday, possibly by a tall truck heading toward Kihei on the highway on the pali side of Buzz's Wharf Restaurant, said Rick Colletto, Maui County general manager for Oceanic Time Warner Cable. He said the aerial cable, which goes across the highway, was found in two pieces, cutting off service to areas west of Maalaea, including West Maui, Molokai and Lanai.
"We dispatched people as soon as we knew and we have been working on it ever since," Colletto said Friday afternoon.
Cable service was still out as telecast was beginning for the University of Hawaii at Boise State football game.
Shortly before 3 p.m., Colletto said cable service was starting to be restored. He said workers had to re-splice the fiber-optic cable while working "in the narrowest part of the pali."
Colletto said the company didn't receive a report on how the cable was severed.
"I'd like to appeal to the public, if anybody knows how it happened," he said.
Anyone with information can call Oceanic at 442-4826.
* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.
