By Rich Pollack
Driving through Highland Beach on State Road A1A has gotten easier thanks to the near-conclusion of the Florida Department of Transportation’s $8.3 million resurfacing and improvement project.
It’s not quite a perfectly uninterrupted scenic drive yet, however, thanks to a long- awaited sewer-lining project, construction of townhomes and houses at the south end of town and an expected installation of embedded lighting in Highland Beach’s eight A1A crosswalks.
The town will soon begin the second phase on A1A of its massive sewer-lining project — with a price tag between $1.35 million and $1.5 million. Sewer pipe work on the side-street neighborhoods has been completed, but the lining of pipes under A1A had to wait for the conclusion of the state’s road project.
Town Manager Marshall Labadie said that while the sewer-lining project will be far less disruptive than replacing all the aging pipes, there may be some minimal intermittent disruption.
“We expect to see some lane closures for maybe a day or two at a time,” he said.
While traditional sewer line repairs include excavating and replacing old pipe, lining the pipes will be less intrusive and less expensive, he said.
Mostly, contractors will be working “from manhole to manhole” and will be injecting a liner resin that will coat the interior of the pipes, some of which are more than 50 years old.
During an inspection a few years ago, crews discovered areas where the pipes were leaking and where they were subject to water from the outside getting in, meaning the town was paying to treat wastewater it didn’t need to treat. There is also a concern about leaking sewage contaminating ground water.
The sewer lining work on A1A is expected to be completed within a few months.
“This project moves quickly,” Labadie said.
To avoid disruption to residents in condominiums on A1A, contractors will be rerouting wastewater flow to pipes not simultaneously being lined.
The town will tap into reserves in its sewer fund to cover the cost of the project.
At the south end of town motorists were required to drive over a metal plate while workers installed a sanitary sewer connection from a site on the west side of A1A that will include seven townhouses to property on the east side of the road that is also being developed.
While the metal plate was removed last month after the installation of the sewer line, motorists were left having to drive over what one resident described as a “nasty bump.” Town officials say the bump should be repaired quickly.
While some residents initially believed that the work on that section of the road was related to development of Milani Park, that is not the case. Labadie said, however, that he expects sanitary sewer connections will be needed and traffic will be disrupted while the work on the park is being done.
County officials have said a start date for construction of the park has not been determined.
Labadie said there could also be minimal disruption to traffic when the town installs embedded lights at crosswalks on A1A.
The town is hoping to get a $300,000 appropriation from the state to cover the cost of installing the pedestrian-activated lights at eight crosswalks. Labadie said the town will cover the cost if the funding doesn’t come through.
He said that project will probably not begin until summer at the earliest.
Highland Beach currently has pedestrian-activated flashing yellow lights at crosswalks and flags available to those crossing the road. The embedded lights will just be one more feature to alert drivers of pedestrians in the walkways.
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