Longboat's underground utilities project ahead of schedule

According to Longboat Key Town Manager Dave Bullock, the townwide $50 million project to bury power lines and hide from sight other utility equipment is “a little ahead of schedule,” and he hopes to keep it that way.

“This is a long and complex project so it is good to get the early work done ahead of anticipated schedule” Bullock wrote in a May 24 email to commissioners and town department heads.

The project is intended to enhance the community’s safety, appearance and protection from storm-related outages and recovery from damage.

Bullock provided the following update on the project:

• The town’s contractors have completed field survey work for the entire town.
• While survey contractors are finished their work, Florida Power and Light and CDM Smith, the utilities project manager, are still completing field data collection.
• The town has submitted to FPL surveys for Country Club Shores and the section of the island north of Dream Island Road.
• This week, FPL sent the town their preliminary plans (ahead of schedule).
• The project manager is currently doing fieldwork to “ground truth” the preliminary plans, meaning CDM Smith is ensuring the plans are accurate based on observation.
• With new information, the town will update the estimated cost of the project.

Now that the town has reliable data, Bullock wrote, town staff is actively setting meetings with communications carriers.