River Road Overhead to Underground Utility Conversion Project
Estimated Dates & Work Schedule
Anticipated End Date: 2021-05-31
Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
NOTE: Start and completion dates are highly subject to change, and in some circumstances, weekend and extended hours may be necessary.
Project Objective
The River Road Overhead to Underground Utility Conversion Project is a community driven “grass roots” project requested and organized by neighborhood residents. A total of 100% of the property owners within the project area signed a petition in favor of funding this project. The petition/ordinance for this neighborhood special assessment was presented and approved by the Jacksonville City Council on September 8, 2020. 100% of the property owners within the project footprint will be assessed following construction completion (please see the below map of the project scope).
The objective of this project is to convert the existing overhead utility lines (electric and communications) to underground within the project scope. A contractor working for JEA (Heart Utilities, Inc.) will be installing new electric conduit, transformers, cables and manholes. Comcast will be also working in a similar manner to convert their utilities from overhead to underground.
JEA will also be installing new street lights throughout the project area. The new street lights will be similar to the current street lights found along other sections of River Road.
Learn more about community-initiated project (NAP) and programs
Construction Conditions
Crews began by surveying the area and mobilizing the equipment. The information gathered was used by our engineers, crews and contractors to identify the existing underground utilities, public rights-of-way, existing pipes, and to help determine soil and asphalt conditions.
The majority of the work took place along the south end of River Road and north end of River Oaks Road. Most construction activities occurred in the City of Jacksonville’s right-of-way and easements. JEA requestd easements from property owners for equipment that might not fit completely within the City’s right-of-way.
The contractor installed the new conduit and cabling using the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method of construction. Directional drilling, or HDD, is a steerable, trenchless method of installing underground utilities. However, open-cut trench work and excavation will be necessary on a portion of River Road. For the safety of our crews and the general public, detours and lane closures were required while the work was being completed.
The electric utilities were installed first followed by the communication (Comcast) utilities.
Restoration of Project Area
Upon completion of the project, any roads, curb, grass, driveways, sidewalks, or sod impacted by the construction were returned to pre-construction condition. Residents were encouraged to immediately report any possible damage caused by our work to JEA Project Outreach so we could have the opportunity for our crews to investigate and/or make the repairs.
Map of Project Scope
