A construction project intended to improve traffic in Lake County has left nearby residents and a local nonprofit dealing with a different kind of disruption: days without reliable internet and, for some, telephone service.

Lake County officials confirmed Tuesday that a contractor struck a utility line Thursday, October 15, near the ongoing Eudora Road roundabout construction project.

AT&T has also confirmed that construction-related fiber damage is affecting internet service in the greater Mount Dora area.

For those affected, the outage has disrupted work, communication and community services, with some customers reporting repeated delays in estimated restoration times.

County confirms construction damage, explains repair delays

According to Lake County, the service provider was contacted Thursday after a contractor struck a line during construction.

Repair crews responded Friday, October 16, but encountered difficulties locating both ends of the damaged cable.

County officials told News 6 they learned Tuesday morning that the problem remained unresolved and began gathering additional information.

Staff also contacted a resident who reported the outage, explained what the county knew and assured the resident repairs would be completed as quickly as possible.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the county said crews were on-site and working toward completing repairs that night.

However, the county did not provide a guaranteed restoration time.

AT&T confirms construction-related fiber damage

In a written statement to News 6 Tuesday afternoon, an AT&T spokesperson confirmed the company was aware of internet disruptions connected to construction damage.

“Some customers in the greater Mount Dora area may be experiencing internet disruptions due to fiber damage caused by construction. We are in contact with Forged Fiber 37, which is working to resolve issues outside of their network so that service can be fully restored to impacted customers as quickly as possible.”

Forged Fiber 37 is a fiber infrastructure company established as part of AT&T’s acquisition of Lumen Technologies’ residential fiber business earlier this year. It holds network assets and operations acquired through that transaction.

AT&T announced in October that Forged Fiber 37 is expected to become part of a new fiber infrastructure joint venture, although that transaction has not yet closed.

The company did not provide News 6 with an exact number of affected customers or a confirmed restoration time.

Local nonprofit loses connection during student workshop

For Delrita Meisner, executive director of Be Free Lake, the outage began at an especially difficult moment.

The Lake County drug-prevention coalition was conducting a virtual workshop with more than 40 high school students Thursday morning when its internet connection suddenly failed.

“We were automatically cut off from that platform that we were presenting to our students,” Meisner said.

The nonprofit, which operates from office space inside St. Philip Lutheran Church on Boyd Drive, uses CenturyLink for its internet and telephone service.

Meisner said both services went down around 11:30 a.m. Thursday and remained unavailable when News 6 visited Tuesday.

She said the church was also experiencing an outage.

Without its regular internet connection, Meisner has been relying on her personal cellphone’s hotspot to access online services and using her personal phone to conduct the nonprofit’s business.

But losing the office telephone lines has created another concern.

“Right now, we need our phone lines fixed. That’s the urgency because we receive calls from the community, from our Lake County community, requesting access to resources,” Meisner said.

Those calls can involve requests for assistance or information about housing, transportation, food services and educational workshops.

Meisner said the outage has also interrupted virtual meetings and access to email, making it harder for the organization to carry out its normal operations.

Residents describe repeated delays and frustration

The disruption extends into nearby neighborhoods.

A resident in the Golden Heights area of unincorporated Mount Dora, who asked not to be identified, told News 6 that her household’s Quantum Fiber internet stopped working Thursday.

She said the family received an initial notification acknowledging an outage and estimating that service would be restored by the end of that day.

Instead, she said, the expected restoration time continued getting pushed back.

Her husband works from home and has had to rely on a cellphone hotspot or travel to places offering free Wi-Fi to continue working.

The resident said other neighbors have described similar problems in an online community group.

She also described receiving inconsistent explanations from the internet provider.

During one call, she said, the company acknowledged an outage and issued a credit of approximately $3 after she requested compensation.

During another call, she said her husband was told the interruption was routine maintenance.

The household eventually received a refund for a month’s service, according to the resident, but she said the refund did not make up for the inconvenience and disruption to work.

“The communication has really not been good,” she said.

Residents have reported that more than 100 people may be affected, but News 6 has not independently verified that figure, and AT&T has not provided an official customer count.

While AT&T has confirmed construction-related damage affecting internet service, News 6 has not independently established whether every reported Quantum Fiber and CenturyLink interruption stems from the same damaged infrastructure.

What is the Eudora Road construction project?

The outage comes as Lake County works on a major roadway improvement project near the intersection of Eudora Road, Old U.S. Highway 441 and County Road 19A.

The approximately $9 million project involves constructing a new roundabout, improving drainage and making other transportation improvements intended to address traffic and safety concerns.

Lake County is overseeing construction, with the City of Mount Dora and the Florida Department of Transportation among the project’s funding partners.

Construction began in August 2026 and is scheduled to continue through December 2027.

The county’s October 13 construction update, issued two days before the outage began, noted that crews had completed installation of a new water main and were continuing additional utility work near the intersection.

County procurement records identify Atlantic Civil Constructors Corporation as the company awarded the roundabout construction contract. However, the county did not identify which contractor struck the utility line Thursday, and News 6 has not confirmed whether that work was performed by the primary contractor or a subcontractor.

When will internet service be restored?

As of the latest updates provided to News 6 on Tuesday, October 20, repair work was ongoing.

Lake County said the service provider was working to complete repairs Tuesday night, while AT&T said its teams were coordinating with Forged Fiber 37 to restore service as quickly as possible.

Neither provided a firm time when all affected customers could expect their internet or telephone service to return.

For the residents and organizations affected, the immediate priority is getting back online. But the nearly weeklong disruption has also raised questions about how underground utilities are protected during construction and how service providers communicate with customers when repairs take longer than expected.

News 6 will continue following the repair efforts and seeking updates on service restoration.