2000 Oct Vol 31 Issue 2 Town Reporter Undergrounding Goldwater Memorial Mummy Mtn Preserve Eonite

TOWN REPORTER TOWN OF PARADISE VALLEY 6401 EAST LINCOLN DRIVE October 2000 Volume 31, Issue 2 UNDERGROUNDING UTILITY LINES CONTINUES IN PARADISE VALLEY T own residents may be wondering about the construction activity on Lincoln Drive. Earlier this year, the Town and Arizona Public Service (APS) agreed to underground the high voltage 69kv transmission lines that run along Lincoln Drive from Mockingbird Lane to 32nd Street. The next phase of the project will be to underground the 69kv lines on Mocking- bird Lane south of Lincoln Drive, and McDonald Drive east to Scottsdale Road. The cost of the project will be $5.4 million . APS will pay $1.2 million , money that would be spent to upgrade the existing 69kv system of wood or steel poles and aerial wiring. The project is expected to be complete by 2004. Currently, the Town is trenching along Lincoln Drive, installing the under- ground conduits that will accommodate the electrical, telephone and cable lines. The actual conversion of the overhead wires to the underground sys- tem will be done in two to three years, after all the underground conduits along the entire route are in place. When completed , approximately 5.7 miles of aerial wires and 99 power poles will have been eliminated and placed underground , immensely improving the visual aesthetics of the Town. The 69kv undergrounding has been phased over the next four years for several reasons. Among them are budget considerations , waiting for adja- cent neighborhood undergrounding district projects to be completed, coordi- nating work with other capital improvement projects like the Lincoln Drive pavement overlay project, and minimizing traffic disruption on major streets . The technology for undergrounding 69kv transmission lines is fairly new, whereby special aluminum conductors are housed in 6 inch diameter con- duits placed in a trench. The narrow, fairly deep trench is backfilled with a special mixture of concrete and fly-ash to help dissipate the heat from the high voltage lines. All underground utilities other than fiber optic lines must be kept a mini- mum of 10 feet away from the 69kv underground lines. Accordingly, a 20- foot wide protective utility corridor will be established along the route of the (Continued on page 10) Undergrounding 69kv poles and transmission lines along Lincoln Drive will be removed and placed underground INSIDE The Mayor's Comer Council Vacancy Goldwater Memorial Mummy Mountain Preserve Trust Code Enforcement Building Permit Activity 2 3 3 4 6 7 Fact Sheet Base Expenditure Adjustment Sanitation Ordinance Early Voting Ballot Request Rural Metro Update Burglary Prevention Tips Committee Reports 8 10 11 12 13 14