Town creates pipeline Web site

The town of Longboat Key has created a Web site to keep residents and visitors informed on a $2.1 million water pipeline upsizing project that will cause temporary traffic delays at times.

The project consists of the installation of approximately 14,000 lineal feet of 12-  to 16-inch diameter water pipes along the east side of Gulf of Mexico Drive from Bay Isles Road to the south end of the Key.

New Web updates, which can be reached by accessing the main page of the town’s Web site, www.longboatkey.org, are available weekly. The Web site reports that utility locating and flagging will continue along the east right-of-way of Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Pipe installation will be done from the 2100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive to the 1950 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive this week.

The town contracted with Palmetto-based Westra Construction Corporation to perform the work. Westra will utilize directional drilling and open cut trenching to install the pipeline to minimize work-related interruptions to traffic and pedestrians. The project’s estimated completion date is September 2010, weather permitting.

Funding for this project was provided by a low-interest loan under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

This project is a component of the potable water interconnection between the town and the city of Sarasota’s potable water system. Currently, the town’s only source of potable drinking water is from Manatee County from the north. The new interconnection will allow greater flexibility during times of emergencies.

Questions about the project may be directed to the Public Works Department at 316-1988.

To access the pipeline Web site directly, visit http://www.tgw1.com/LBK-Water-Main.html

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].