WEEK 8: Street resurfacing and natural gas infrastructure upgrades

Dry weather and comfortable temperatures last week set the stage for progress in the city’s $30 million street resurfacing and natural gas infrastructure upgrades program. Construction crews representing Pensacola Energy worked in the Downtown West and South Palafox sectors of the city to replace antiquated cast-iron natural gas lines with modern, corrosion-free medium-density polyethylene pipe.

Work on the program is expected to continue throughout the city until mid-2018. Approximately 46-miles of cast-iron pipes will be replaced, some of it installed more than a century ago. Once completed, residents in these areas will have a more reliable, safe, and efficient system; and taxpayers will benefit from lower lifecycle maintenance costs
Pensacola Energy serves approximately 43,000 natural gas customers.

The city’s street resurfacing efforts are currently focused in the downtown area and in the western section of Pensacola. It’s an aggressive program that is milling and resurfacing about 1800 city blocks, or 119-miles of streets and roadways.

Taxpayer benefits associated with the work include:

• Enhanced traffic safety.
• Better drainage.
• Smoother rides.
• Less wear-and-tear on vehicles (front end alignments, tires, chipped windshields, etc.).
• Aesthetic improvements for the city’s residential and commercial districts.

Property owners and tenants are reminded to remove vehicles parked on the street so the resurfacing work can begin.