Why don't large carriers use alternate communication routes?

This is an op-ed, but most California internet folks know about recurring outages for a decade on this fiber route. What was unusual is the local governments eventually used public funds to help pay for an east-west alternate fiber route. Instead of leasing capacity on alternate routes, the dominate carrier continued to use the single fiber route (which it owns). And the customer outages continue. Are the penalties for subscribe outages so minimal that it makes business sense not to use backup alternate routes? https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2017/oct/10/two-years-ago-t-promised-end-mass-t... Two Years Ago, AT&T Promised to End Mass Telecommunication Outages. How’s That Working Out?