Utility project moves forward on north, south ends

Work on the town’s underground utilities project, which launched in July, is proceeding as expected, town officials say. The underground utilities work, part of the $49 million project approved by referendum, is broken into five phases, beginning in the north and south and working toward the middle of the island.

Phase 1 work, essentially the area of Country Club Shores, is on target.

• 100% of the conduit has been placed in the Gulf of Mexico Drive right of way.
• 100% of the required concrete pads for electrical equipment have been set in place along Gulf of Mexico Drive
• 100% of the conductor pull boxes, which facilitate the actual installation of cables through the already buried conduits, have been installed along Gulf of Mexico Drive.
• Work to begin pulling conductors through the buried conduit and setting electrical equipment on the roadside pads is beginning.
• Frontier Communications is continuing its share of the project in Phase 1.

Phase 2 work, generally from the northernmost end of the island to Dream Island Road, is similarly on schedule without any use of contingency time.

• 100% of the primary and feeder conduit has been placed along Broadway Street and work progresses south along Gulf of Mexico Drive. A gas line was struck Sept. 24 in this phase of the operation along GMD.
• 100% of equipment pads have been placed along Broadway Street.

At the staging site off-island, initial receipt of FPL conductors and switches has taken place. Still in progress is delivery of capacitors and transformers for Phase 1.

Town commissioners earlier this year established 35-foot heights for small-cell towers along Gulf of Mexico Drive and 25-foot heights in neighborhood right of ways. Commissioners, acting on a recommendation from the Planning & Zoning Board to hold all other small cell-towers on private property at 35 feet, have discussed and will again discuss the pros and cons of such a change. 

That discussion is expected to return to the commission for final action in November.