Indiana Businesses Exposed has compiled a full investigative brief on Lumos Fiber's recent build activity in Clark and Floyd counties — weaving together WDRB News coverage, public records, Floyd County Commission documents, New Albany Township Fire Department letters, U.S. federal press releases, South Carolina court records, and official Lumos corporate communications.

On April 1, 2026, new photographic evidence emerged from Memphis, Indiana, along the Columbus-Mann Road corridor — one of Lumos Fiber's active build areas in Clark County — showing a residential gas line damaged by fiber-trenching crews. The incident forced residents to evacuate temporarily, triggered emergency gas-shutoff procedures, and resulted in a multi-hour traffic disruption. Public records show Floyd County had previously issued a stop-work order against Lumos after an earlier construction incident, meaning this was at least the second documented permit suspension in a single summer.

Lumos crews struck a gas line in the Wolf Lake subdivision of New Albany, prompting Floyd County officials to suspend permits again despite Lumos's stated “improvements” in safety protocols. A separate gas-leak incident caused by Lumos contractors diverted traffic on State Road 60 and blocked access to a Sellersburg subdivision; a Clark County utility contractor confirmed to WDRB that Lumos was responsible for the leak. The company planned to build roughly 1,200 miles of fiber to reach more than 80,000 homes across Clark and Floyd counties — but neighborhood after neighborhood has reported property damage, unfilled holes, and cut utility lines.

Why Floyd County issued the stop-work order

The Floyd County Commissioners and the Floyd County Department of Building & Development Services issued an immediate stop-work order explicitly citing “violations of the County Utility Agreement and public safety concerns presented by the New Albany Township Fire Protection District.” Lumos contractors repeatedly:

• Struck underground utility lines, including gas lines, during trenching operations.
• Left unfilled trenches, damaged property, and unfinished restoration work — unsafe driveways, cracked pavement, exposed cables.
• Failed to properly coordinate with utility-locating services and local officials before digging, a core requirement under the Utility Agreement.

What New Albany Township Fire told the county

Fire officials reported that Lumos contractors had cut at least seven gas lines in a single month, with four of those strikes happening in just one week. The hazards:

• Gas leaks and evacuation risks — residents pushed out of homes, emergency response demanded.
• Traffic disruptions and blocked access — crews and utility companies shut down roads and neighborhoods to repair lines.
• Compromised structural integrity of driveways, streets, and utility corridors — visible damage hides additional underground problems.

The fire department also emphasized that unmarked trenches and exposed fiber lines pose trip, vehicle-damage, and emergency-response challenges — delaying first responders, increasing secondary-accident risk, and turning routine calls into haz-mat or utility-repair incidents.

What Lumos must do to lift the order

• Field-verified remediation of all damaged property, unfilled trenches, and utility-line repairs — county inspectors must confirm restoration.
• On-site signage and contractor contact info clearly identifying the responsible company per job site, so residents can report issues directly.
• Improved utility-locating and restoration practices, with documented evidence that “call-before-you-dig” protocols are being followed.
• Existing contracted work must be completed before new permits will be considered.

Resident-reported property damage

In New Albany and surrounding neighborhoods, residents complain Lumos crews:

• Left unfilled trenches and holes for days or weeks — tri-hazard and vehicle-damage conditions.
• Damaged driveways, curbs, and sidewalks by trenching too close to or under concrete surfaces.
• Ripped up landscaping, sod, and irrigation lines — some homeowners say crews refilled with dirt and rocks rather than original topsoil and grass, leaving yards permanently scarred.
• Caused water-line and sewer-line disruptions, with municipalities or HOAs eating the repair bill rather than Lumos.

One Floyd County commissioner said he had never received as many cumulative complaints in a single week as he did during the Lumos rollout.