- April 18, 2024
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Ormond Beach workers will begin construction in 2013 to move utility wires in the downtown Community Redevelopment Area underground.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRITER
A $1.4 million agreement with Florida Power & Light and AT&T to move underground aerial utilities along the downtown Community Redevelopment Area was approved at the Nov. 7 Ormond Beach City Commission meeting.
Construction limits include Granada Boulevard, from U.S. 1 to Beach Street; Corbin Avenue, from Washington Street to Beach Street; and New Britain Avenue, from Washington Street to Beach Street.
The approval also covered peripheral costs from Brighthouse, Sunesys and Level 3.
“It’s aesthetic, obviously, but it also improves reliability,” City Engineer John Noble said of the project. “(There’s) less chances of trees knocking down wires.”
And that's huge, he added, since fallen trees are one of the top causes of power outages during hurricanes.
Other improvements included in the project are additional trees planted along the street, and expanded sidewalks.
The total cost, according to city documents, is $1,371,929.15, which is up from the original $1.2 million estimated in the 2011-2012 fiscal year budget.
The budget will be amended to re-appropriate funding and to reflect the adjusted amount, once bids have been received and a total cost is known.
Undergrounding aerial utilities was listed in the 2007 Downtown Master Plan, in an effort to reflect the look of East Granada Boulevard and the Boulevard 2000 project.
Construction, which will take roughly three months, is estimated to begin in June, after the Florida Department of Transportation finishes construction of medians on Granada Boulevard.
