Key Biscayne Master Plan 043944000.18w_Key_Biscayne_MP(forJooMag) | Page 56
VILLAGE OF KEY BISCAYNE UNDERGROUNDING OF UTILITIES — MASTER PLAN
undergrounding program of implementation as recommended in this
master plan meets the criteria to qualify for the GAF Waiver.
Multiple phases reduce the risk a single contractor fails to execute
the work of a single large phase. Contractor failure introduces risks
to both project schedule and costs related to delays, re-work, re-
mobilization activities, and potential litigation.
Community impacts due to the construction must be considered
in selecting a project size. Each construction phase duration is
anticipated to be 18 to 24 months. It has been our experience
that durations longer than this can cause strain within the
affected community due to traffic impacts, noise, and other
construction-related impacts. We have found that confining
activities in a relatively small area are desired and better tolerated
by the community than large scale activities that impact a large
geographic area.
Physical Size of the Individual Phase
While the FPL tariff contains minimum project size requirements to be
eligible for the GAF Waiver, the individual phase area should not be
excessively large for several reasons:
Multiple phases also provide the opportunity for the Village to
better control the flow of funds to both the utility companies and
the contractor constructing the work. The utility companies require
upfront payment of their construction costs. If the entire Village
were to be designed and constructed at one time, significant
costs would be incurred very early in the process for materials and
equipment that may not be installed for several years.
The amount of work performed within a given time period needs
to be manageable not only for the Village’s contractor, consultants,
and staff, but also for the utility companies. There are operations
that must be performed by FPL, AT&T, and Comcast so their
scopes of work for both design and construction are feasible to
complete within the given timeframe.
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Sufficient time must be provided in between the construction
start times of sequential phases to allow for design, permitting,
contractor procurement, and easement acquisition activities.
Design activities are performed by the Village and the utility
companies as a joint effort for each phase. Breaking up the design
into multiple phases allows the initial phases to go to construction
earlier while the balance of the program phases can continue in
design. This overlap of design and construction creates schedule
compression to allow the overall program to be completed in an
expedited manner.
Breaking the project up into multiple components provides for
enhanced competition amongst the contracting community to
perform the work.
Breaking up the total program cost into phases reduces the
bonding capacity required for qualified contractors who may
choose to pursue the individual projects. This allows the pool of
bidders to remain high, which fosters competitive pricing.
6.1.2 Electric and Communication Utility
System Technical Requirements
There are also technical requirements that must be considered when
setting the phase area limits for an undergrounding conversion program.
For this program, Kimley-Horn held a workshop with FPL, AT&T, and
Comcast to review technical issues and mutually agree upon specific
phasing limits. For the most part, the utility companies were willing to
accommodate the phasing as it is proposed.
FPL and AT&T were relatively flexible with where the phase line limits were
to be located. FPL’s recommendation was to ensure that three-phase
service was provided in each of the phases to loop existing feeders.
AT&T was concerned if we skip areas to minimize disruption, additional
plans may be needed to bridge over an area to be constructed in a later
phase. Comcast had the least flexibility because of the way their fiber
optic nodes provide communications service to a very specific area.
Changing an existing node boundary requires a significant amount of
device programming that can both increase cost and create a higher level
of customer disruption during the reprogramming process. To the greatest
extent practical, Comcast recommended our phasing work proceed from
the South end of the Village to the North end because that is how their
fiber trunk line is currently routed. In any case, temporary facilities may be
necessary for each of the utilities to implement the recommended phasing.