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Alachua Street construction set to begin; staff details railroad, utility and park bid timelines
Summary
City staff told the CRA executive board that Alachua Street surface and utility work is scheduled to start next week, with undergrounding and pole removals planned ahead of the Shrimp Festival; staff also summarized waterfront-park bid ranges and upcoming procurement for pavilion and restrooms.
City staff told the CRA executive board that Alachua Street construction is scheduled to begin next week and that several coordinated utility, railroad and streetscape tasks should be completed in time for the Shrimp Festival if the timeline holds.
Jake, staff member, said the railroad contractor will be on-site the following Monday and that surface crossing work is expected to be finished by Dec. 23; he added that the city and contractors plan to remove two remaining utility poles on North Front Street within about five weeks as part of an undergrounding phase. "They're starting on the 9th as well at FDU," Jake said while describing the sequence of electrical work and fencing for the project.
Why it matters: Alachua Street is a circulation corridor that affects downtown connectivity and the Front Street corridor; the schedule also affects boat-ramp and marina access planning tied to waterfront work and marine-season operations.
Staff also summarized procurement: site-work bids for the waterfront park returned in a range roughly from $1.5 million to $3.1 million; bids for the pavilion and restroom vertical elements were opened Dec. 20 and staff was vetting two bidders for best value. Jake said fuel-tank replacement in Parking Lot A (20,000-gallon tanks) is out for bid with pre-bid meetings scheduled and that dredging procurement for the southern basin is planned to start in January with a likely March–April construction window.
Board members asked for a more detailed construction-cost breakdown and for staff to evaluate potential savings (for example, rethinking tree grates or uplighting choices). Jake said he would circulate detailed bid tabs and the revised presentation to the board ahead of the January meetings so members could prioritize recommendations for the commission.
Next steps: staff will provide daily construction photos as work begins, circulate bid breakdowns and the revised presentation, and bring prioritized options to the January 7 workshop and the January 17 executive board meeting.
