As part of its plans to upgrade the look and function of the downtown area, the City of Port Orchard plans to take the lead on running some utilities underground. For a complete description, see the press release from City Engineer Maher Abed, below. Work done by the city, as described in the release, will allow business and building owners to tie into underground utility junctions as future development takes place.
A Public workshop on the plan is set for 7 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers.
Here’s Maher:
(My note: Say it with a “Heeeer’s Johnny” voice and it’s kind of funny on a Friday afternoon. Cheers, Maher!)
Background: The City of Port Orchard Mayor and Council had agreed to take the lead on the franchise utilities (power, phone and cable) in the Downtown area in 2007. Initially, the City considered doing the full undergrounding through the Downtown area, however, this effort was abandoned because of the cost and the risk of not knowing how the new business redevelopment plans would be executed in the future. Instead, the City agreed to underground franchise utilities within the main corridors in the Downtown at: Geiger Street to Kitsap Bank location, Frederick and Sidney intersections. Provisions will be for the future undergrounding effort of downtown businesses as development occurs within the corridor. This project is being done ahead of the State Department of Transportation’s scheduled overlay of the state Highway including Bay Street through the Downtown area.
Scope of Work: It consists of implementing an approved traffic control plan, mobilization and staging of equipment, saw cutting and demolition of surface features in the work area, excavation of prescribed trench sections, installation of Puget Sound Energy (PSE), Qwest, and City owned conduits and vaults, coordination for installation of Wave owned conduits and vaults, backfilling of trench sections with Control density fill within the State Highway, restoration of surface features and any disrupted services, demobilization and clean-up.
Preliminary Timeline for the project:
Bid Opening due at 2:00 p.m. February 29, 2008
Bid evaluation Completion March 6, 2008
Projected Contract Award March 14, 2008
Projected Project Start March 24, 2008
Engineer’s estimate for the Project: $238,683.47
Project Anticipated Duration: The project is projected to be completed within 60 days of the start date.
City’s Point of Contact: Maher M. Abed, P.E., Public Works Director/City Engineer, 216 Prospect Street, Port Orchard, WA 98366, Phone Number: (360) 876-7034.
