Underground work phases cut from five to four

Workers took a holiday break on the town's underground utilities project, stepping away from the roadside-boring machinery from Dec. 23 through Jan. 5. As construction resumes, workers are again focusing on the northern and southern ends of the island. 

Town Manager Tom Harmer, in his monthly newsletter, wrote that crews on the southern end of the island expect to begin working into neighborhoods in January. Until now, work has been concentrated along the Gulf of Mexico Drive corridor. 

Also, though work has yet to begin in the middle island area, planners have split the project's Phase 5 in two, reducing the overall number to of phases to four. The original plan involved two northern phases, two southern phases and a final middle phase from Buttonwood Cove to Country Club Shores. 

Now, Phase Four (originally from Dream Island Road to the Zota Beach Resort) and Phase Three (originally from Buttonwood Cove to Country Club Shores) extend to the county line.  

Project Manager James Linkogle has said residents will receive plenty of notice before crews begin working down their neighborhood streets.