Jacksonville officials brief council on $117 million Fulton Cut power-line project as emergency one-cycle bill heads to committees

Jacksonville officials on March 18 held a special briefing on the Fulton Cut crossing power-line project, bill 20250194, telling city council members why the estimated cost rose to $117,000,000, how procurement under Florida's Competitive Negotiation Act (CCNA) was handled, and how the project would be funded if the council approves the one-cycle emergency ordinance that will go to committee meetings next week and then the full council for a vote on March 25.

The briefing matters because the work to raise transmission lines over the Fulton Cut is intended to remove an "air draft" restriction that limits the size of ships that can call at Jaxport. Jaxport officials said the project is tied to the port's broader strategy to attract larger vessels and additional weekly services that they say would generate substantial state and local tax revenue and jobs if the project is completed on schedule.

At the March 18 briefing, Kurt Wilson, Transmission Division, JEA, said the project cost rose in stages. A 2020 feasibility study estimated roughly $45 million; competitive design-build procurement returned a Quanta proposal at about $90 million at 30% design; an additional $27 million reflects owner-purchased items and project-level costs such as towers, cabling, FAA lighting, owner's representative fees and insurance. "I would give it a 99% confidence that the GMP will hold on the 27," Wilson said of the owner-purchased portion, while noting tariffs and other unforeseeable factors remain a…