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Homestead unveils multi‑phase Chrome Avenue water, sewer and transit improvements, warns of months‑long closures
Summary
City staff and consultants laid out a three‑phase plan to upsize water and sewer mains and rebuild downtown sidewalks and bus stops. Construction will be phased to limit disruption but officials warned segments will need full closures and said contractors may work day/night and weekends to speed completion.
City staff and consultant engineers presented a combined plan on June 4 to upgrade water and sewer capacity along Chrome and Flagler avenues and to rebuild Chrome Avenue’s sidewalks, bus stops and streetscape under a federally funded transit‑accessibility grant.
Public Works Director Kyra Kangas said the projects are being bundled into one solicitation to minimize repeated disruption. "We're going to be up‑sizing both the water and the sewer lines," Kangas said, noting the sewer trunk will be increased to 36 inches in key segments and water mains upgraded from 8 to 12 inches to meet future growth and service standards.
The work is divided into three phases: Phase 1 (Lucy Street to the MDC busway) focuses on the first water/sewer construction; Phase 2 carries main replacement along Flagler; Phase 3 reconstructs Chrome Avenue from the busway to north streets and finishes with surfacing and final striping. Engineers estimated phased durations measured in weeks per segment but warned some downtown segments must be closed entirely while crews complete complex underground work. The plan limits open trenching to roughly 750 linear feet at a time and requires the contractor to maintain 5‑foot pedestrian access to businesses.
The city emphasized an aggressive, compressed timeline and robust outreach: contractors may use multiple crews and work nights and weekends to shorten total construction time. Staff pledged targeted business and resident outreach, traffic coordination (including temporary alternate access for Pioneer Village during brief intersection closures), and coordination with county emergency services.
Council members asked for clarified parking impacts and updated renderings; staff said final parking counts and detailed construction mitigation plans would be provided before bid and emphasized the project’s grant performance window extends through March 30, 2028.
Next steps: staff will release a solicitation and continue public outreach and coordination with businesses and Pioneer Village residents.
