Gas meter installation leads to mess on Detroit's west side

Massive mess forms after DTE installs gas meter in Detroit

A brand-new gas meter on the outside of a building on the west side of Detroit. However, it ended up looking like giant hole.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Generally, a new outside gas meter is a good thing, but one on the west side of Detroit led to a giant mess. Now companies seem to be pointing the finger at each other. 

FOX 2 originally stated a sinkhole formed after the gas meter was installed. It was not a sinkhole, but an excavation hole. This story has been updated to reflect this change.  

Big picture view:

A brand-new gas meter on the outside of a building on the west side of Detroit was supposed to be installed without a problem. Instead, it led to a giant mess.

R.J. doesn’t know what to do. He has owned a building on Tireman for over 40 years.  When DTE said they were going to install a gas meter outside his building, that was fine. But when underground lines were cut, it ended with a large hole.

Meanwhile, R.J’s wife, Rose Wardlaw, can’t get her food truck out of the garage. 

"It’s just sitting there. Doing nothing. It should be selling greens and hotdog and hamburgers," said Wardlaw.

It appeared that DTE did cut a fiber line when it was connecting the new meter to the main gas line. The line that was cut was a fiber line owned by AT&T and there may be some issue as to whether that fiber line was properly marked.

The other side:

FOX 2 reached out to both DTE and AT&T. 

DTE responded: 

"We empathize with the customer for the inconvenience this has caused. Regrettably, since the other company re-excavated the site, it is the responsibility of that provider to restore it, just as DTE restored the area following our work."

FOX 2 is still waiting for a response from AT&T.