I am happy to be finally posting my first question -- I've been using this forum since I purchased my first home last fall and have been committing a lot of my weekend time towards lawn care with the advice and suggestions I found here. My builder put down bermudagrass sod a few weeks before I bought the house, and I've spent many, many hours this summer babying the lawn into a nice turf. What a great resource this site is!

While I was leaving for work this morning, I noticed that a utility company had come through and marked up the front yard with spraypaint where the gas and power line locations are. My neighbor saw me out there and came out to explain that he was getting AT&T internet installed and they were having to run a line from the box down the block, right through my yard. I understand they have right away through the easement, but certainly it's upsetting as they're about to dig a trench the full width of my front yard to bury the line, right as the lawn is going dormant. So not only will I get to stare at the spray paint for the next 5 months because the grass isn't growing, but I'm also concerned about whether the area that they have to dig up and put back down will survive the winter.

My internet company had to bury a line as well last year, but it was during warmer weather and the grass grew back together pretty quickly. I'm mostly worried about the seasonal temperatures...

So my long story short -- I am wondering if any of you have suggestions about what I can do to care for the grass in this situation to help its recovery. I can't imagine that this kind of trauma is good for the patches they replant, especially now that's going dormant. If any of you have been through something similar, would I have any recourse to compel AT&T to repair any damage?

Thank you so much for your replies.