utility conflicts . This can be avoided by having FPU gas main replacement follow the installation of the Town ’ s undergrounding of utilities .

According to Town staff , there is precedence for shared road restoration costs with the gas company even if this restoration is performed by the Town long after the gas company has completed their work . For past projects , the gas company has foregone the Town-required milling and resurfacing in areas where Town construction activities were also concurrently occurring and instead provided the Town with funds to cover their fair share of the restoration . The Town would then repave the project area using those funds in addition to their own .

The gas company plans to convert their rear yard gas mains to the front street . Because of this conversion , there is a high risk that decisions made in the field by gas company contractors could result in a situation where the available corridor for the electric and undergrounding conduits is taken by the gas

main . This could result in schedule delays and added expense to the undergrounding program .

Kimley-Horn ’ s recommendation is that to the greatest extent practical , the gas main replacement work be conducted after the installation of the undergrounding conduits . Depending on schedule availability , the gas main could be installed in conjunction with the undergrounding phase or at some point afterwards . If the gas company ’ s federal mandate scheduling restrictions dictate that the gas main be installed in advance of the undergrounding work , we recommend that the location of the proposed gas main be highly coordinated with the Town to allow room within the right-of-way for both the gas main and the required undergrounding infrastructure .

Florida Department of Transportation ( FDOT ) Work Program

The only FDOT project currently planned that will be in progress during the implementation of the undergrounding construction program is the replacement of the Southern

Boulevard Bridge . This work is expected to commence in 2017 and be completed by 2021 . This project is located in the Phase 2S area of the undergrounding program , which will begin in May of 2018 and be completed in late 2019 . It is understood that the Flagler Memorial Bridge project is anticipated to be completed in 2017 .

The initial activities for the bridge replacement project will involve a substantial amount of in-water work as the FDOT constructs a temporary bridge . This work will be occurring at the same time as Phase 2S . As the details of the activities in the FDOT work schedule become finalized and available , and the contractor for Phase 2S is selected , the detailed traffic control plans for this area will need to be closely coordinated .

There are no other FDOT planned activities in their work program that would impact the undergrounding project at

this time .

Traffic Impacts

The sequencing recommendations for this program are also influenced by the desire to reduce traffic impacts to the highest degree possible . A detailed discussion regarding an overall traffic management plan is discussed elsewhere in this master plan but on a grander scale , the beginning of a mitigation plan for traffic impacts begins with the sequencing of the individual phases .

Traffic congestion is a source of much frustration in the Town . Because it is a community that was developed largely during a time that depended less on vehicular travel , the rights of way available for roadway lanes are already at their maximum capacity . Recent traffic study data revealed that most roads in Town operate at a Level of Service D or worse . This creates an environment for extreme congestion when any lane capacity is impacted by construction operations .

This master plan ’ s recommendation is that the phases begin at the north and south extremes of the Town and work inward towards the center . In this manner , the bulk of the population