Deerwood - Southside Integrated Pipe System Water Project Phase 1
Estimated Dates & Work Schedule
Anticipated End Date: 2024-10-31
Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.*
*In some circumstances, extended hours and weekends may be required.
Project Objective
A contractor working for JEA (J B Coxwell Contracting, Inc.) is continuing work on the first phase of an overall project to construct a new water transmission pipeline between two major water treatment grids located in JEA’s Duval County service territory. This project will allow JEA the ability to transport excess water supply from the north side of the St. Johns River to the south side of the river to better meet increased Potable Water demand in the southerly portion of the JEA service area.
Once the new water transmission line is constructed and placed on-line, it will result in a direct offset of water withdrawal from the South Grid. Once completed, this project will promote conservation of the Floridian aquifer by lessening JEA's water resource withdrawal demand from its southern Raw Water well fields. Learn more about the overall project.
The first phase of the project involves the installation of approximately 34,000 feet of 30-inch ductile iron water main from Southside Boulevard and Bradley Road to the JEA electric easement along Forest Boulevard South.
As part of this project phase, we will replace approximately 3,548 feet of 6-inch distribution water main, approximately 4,000 feet of raw water main from a future production well site in the Forest Boulevard area to connect to an existing raw water main, and extend the water main along Forest Boulevard. By extending the water main in this location, we will have the opportunity to serve 20 homes on Forest Boulevard who are currently served by private wells.
Construction Conditions
Construction will occur in City and State rights-of-way and easements, and within the electric transmission line easement(s) located near homes and businesses. For the safety of crews and the general public, temporary road closures and detours will be required while work progresses along the project route. During the course of this work, access to your residences and businesses will be maintained. Please see the overall project map and map of current work area and detour route below.
Project Update and Traffic Alert - March 2024
• The new potable distribution water main installations have been completed and are now actively serving customers on Forest Boulevard south of Anders Boulevard.
• The roadway asphalt milling and resurfacing operation continues in portions of the northern project area where construction activities have been completed.
• Paving near Windy Hill Elementary is scheduled to be completed (weather permitting) during spring break to take advantage of the children being out of school (week of March 18, 2024*)
• Due to unforeseen road conditions encountered while installing the new water line beneath Beach Boulevard, temporary lane closures and detours will be extended through April 19, 2024.
INTERSECTION CLOSURE - BEACH BOULEVARD & FOREST BOULEVARD
Estimated Completion Date: April 19, 2024*
*Date is highly subject to change.
Please note the following:
• Daily, intermittent travel lane closures will be required on Beach Boulevard through April 19th.
• One travel lane in each direction will remain open at all times.
• Forest Boulevard closed from Beach Boulevard (near the Race Trac store) to 3340 Forest Boulevard.
• Local traffic only on Forest Boulevard from Anders Boulevard to 3340 Forest Boulevard.
• Vehicular traffic along Forest Boulevard north and south of Beach Boulevard will continue to utilize the Peach Drive detours.
• Roads will be open to local traffic within the closed detour areas.
• Please observe all signs, detours and general directions provided by the crews working on-site.
We appreciate the continued patience of residents and motorists throughout this important infrastructure improvement project, and apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused by this construction work.
Paving Notification and Traffic Alert
As part of the final restoration of the project area, the contractor will soon begin the milling and resurfacing of the areas we have completed construction. The paving contractor will start at the northern portion of the project near Bradley Road and work south towards Beach Boulevard and the Windy Hill neighborhood. Please see the map below for the paving boundaries.
PAVING DATES/TIMES – TEMPORARY ROAD CLOSURES:
Anticipated Start Date: March 11, 2024*
Estimated Completion Date: April 2024*
Normal Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.*
*Dates and times are weather permitting and subject to change.
For the safety of crews and the
general public, traffic will be temporarily routed around the work area while paving
is completed. Traffic control personnel (flaggers) will be on-site to maintain
the flow of traffic.
JEA is requesting that residents within the project
boundaries remove all vehicles and trash receptacles from the street when crews
are actively working. Crews will knock on doors notifying customers of any
obstructions that may need to be removed. However, any
vehicles left on the street and not removed prior to the work on their
respective streets may be moved (towed) out of the immediate work area.
JEA encourages drivers to plan ahead for traffic delays in this area. Residents will have access to their properties and be permitted to drive (with caution) within the project work area. Please observe all construction signs, detours and general directions provided by the crews working on-site.
Overall Project Area Map
Community FAQ
Below are some questions we have received from the community regarding Phase 1 of this project. This section will be updated as the project progresses.
Q. Are there plans for a city sewer to be installed in the neighborhood, and when?
A. There are currently no sewer improvements proposed through this project or in the near future. There are not currently any funded septic tank projects located in this area.
Q. Will the road closure starting March 27th change the school bus and city bus route? What will be their new route?
A. The closures will only impact one bus stop for Duval County Public Schools (DCPS). However all the bus routes will have to follow the detour routes to get to the bus stops. This has been communicated to DCPS for coordination. At this time we do not believe any JTA stops will be changed, but the routes will be affected by detours. JTA is also aware of these impacts.
Q. Is there a map showing the street layout of the construction project South of Forest Blvd? Where is a link to it? Where is an entrance?
A. Yes. JEA has provided numerous project update emails to all residents in the area with the route and you can access these maps as well as upcoming Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) maps at www.jea.com/sips. If you have not received these emails please make sure that you update your email on your JEA account located at jea.com. You can also send an email to the JEA Project Outreach Team at projectoutreach@jea.com and we will make sure you are on the list.
Q. Does JEA have a count for the number of houses in Windy Hill?
A. JEA has account numbers and contact info in their data base which are utilized for determining affected properties.
Q. When do you expect the Windy Hill part of the SIPS Phase 1 water project to be completed?
A. October 2024
Q. What is the best phone number or website for Windy Hill residents to use to ask questions about JEA projects?
A. For more information or to reports concerns JEA’s Project Outreach Team at 665-7500 or email projectoutreach@jea.com.
Q. Will this new water pipe change the water pressure in our homes? Will the pressure decrease or increase?
A. We anticipate there will be improved water quality and possibly increased water pressure in the area of the 6-inch distribution line.
Q. How long until some type of payment will be put down on the dug up portions of Forest Blvd?
A. The contractor will place temporary asphalt one phase at a time, then they will return to mill & resurface the entire road toward the end of the project. Keep in mind the temporary asphalt can be bumpy so drivers should drive lower construction zone speeds for safety.
Q. There are black pipes being installed. Why, water pipes are usually light blue?
A. Due to the size of the transmission water main (30-inch), it is made of ductile iron, which is black and very durable. There is blue marking tape on the pipe to help identify the pipe in the future as well as being noted on JEA’s GIS (mapping) records.
Q. There is a lot of land off of Forest Blvd, between 4236 FOREST BLVD and 4272 FOREST BLVD that JEA owns. What is planned for the lot? Is it going to be used for water or sewage? There is a concern for sewage smell in our homes.
A. There is no sewer work planned for this project, and nothing shown in our plans for this particular lot. Nothing we are doing during this project should cause any sewer odor. This property was purchased for a
future potable water well location. More information will be provided prior to
the installation of the new well.