A Midtown project to replace an aging water main near one of Palm Beach’s main corridors has begun, bringing with it lane closures and the potential for more traffic slow-downs.
Construction is underway along Cocoanut Row from south of Royal Poinciana Way to Pendleton Lane. Crews have begun digging up the 16-inch main that has “reached the end of its useful life,” Jake Hurley, the town’s senior project manager, told the Town Council during an update on April 14. The current water main was installed before 1940, he said.
Work began at the project’s south end and will continue northward through October with the goal of completing the project before the beginning of next season, he said. The final step will be to replace the roadway.
No construction will occur on Royal Poinciana Way, Hurley said. There will be some water-service disruptions during the work, which will not affect the quality of the water, he added.
Service disruptions are expected to last less than an hour for residents on Pendleton Lane or Chapel Hill Road, Hurley said. “Multiple communications” will be issued beforehand to alert those in the area that water service will be paused, he said.
The project team is working with the Royal Poinciana Chapel, the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum and Palm Beach Towers condominiums to coordinate the work and service pauses, Hurley said.
The project is in its preliminary phase, with contractors digging into the road to install temporary water mains, he said.
The biggest effect will be on traffic, Hurley told the council.
The most challenging section of the water main work will involve the southernmost portion, where the southbound lane of Cocoanut Row will be closed between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, he said. Flaggers will direct traffic to allow for northbound and southbound traffic to travel through the area, and to allow drivers to exit and enter Pendleton Lane and Chapel Hill Road, Hurley said.
In the northern part of the project area, the southbound lane will be closed during work hours but southbound traffic can be shifted into the center lane, he said.
The work is being paid for by West Palm Beach, which provides and maintains drinking water for Palm Beach. The town is managing the project, Public Works Director Paul Brazil told the council. West Palm Beach hired Burkhardt Construction to complete the work.
Both Mayor Danielle Moore and her mother, longtime Palm Beach resident and former Council Member and Mayor Lesly Smith, live in the area where the work is taking place. While inconvenient, the project is critical, Moore said. Residents need to “bite the bullet,” she said. “‘Pack your patience,’ as (Council President Pro-Tem) Lew (Crampton) would say, and get the work done.”
For information and updates, residents may contact Hurley at jhurley@townofpalmbeach.com, or Burkhardt Construction’s project liaison, Diane Decker, at diane@burkhardtconstruction.com.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at kwebb@pbdailynews.com. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Crews start work on water main under Cocoanut Row in Palm Beach
Reporting by Kristina Webb, Palm Beach Daily News / Palm Beach Daily News
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