Construction crew hits, breaks utility pole in half on Loop 360 causing outage

Editor's note: The above video is from a traffic report at 6:02 a.m. Traffic started moving normally by 6:15 a.m.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A construction crew hit a utility pole near the Pennybacker Bridge overnight, breaking it in half and causing an hours-long power outage, according to Austin Energy.

The outage started around 1:20 a.m. and affects 178 customers, according to Austin Energy's outage map.

Austin Energy spokesperson Matt Mitchell said a pole was hit by a construction crew and broken in half, causing it to fall onto Loop 360. The incident affected early morning traffic, but traffic was back to moving normally by 6:15 a.m., according KXAN photographer Todd Bailey, who was in the area.

The utility is working with multiple agencies on power restoration. Mitchell said power is expected to be back by 1 p.m.