Council approves water improvements along Cedar Street

To avoid duplicating future costs, the city council approved a $255,403 contract last week to include water utility improvements along the East Cedar Street Roadway Improvement Project between U.S. Highway 95A and Silver Lace Boulevard.

Late last year, the council approved a $326,000 contract with J-U-B Engineers, Inc. for the roadway and sewer improvements. However, due to existing water utilities in this area being more than 20 years old, staff recommended that water improvements be included in the project.

Coordinating utility improvements with the roadway improvements allows the city to take advantage of the construction window, minimizing future disruptions and avoiding duplicative costs, according to a staff report.

Funding for the added water improvements will be allocated across the city’s roadway Capital Improvements Account and water and sewer enterprise accounts to ensure costs are appropriately distributed to the benefiting systems, the report noted.