Alachua to Front Street opening next week

The long-awaited opening of Alachua Street over the railroad tracks to Front Street will become operational shortly after this weekend's Shrimp Festival events are concluded.

The project has been eight years in the making since the historic downtown connection was first planned. Originally budgeted at $1.89 million, contractor delays and materials costs pushed the roadway expansion estimate to $7.37 million. That forced city planners to scale down the original scope of work and the new plan began construction last December.

On Friday, city paving crews were putting down fresh asphalt along Alachua and Front streets.

At the same time as that work was being done, a Florida Public Utilities crew was taking down utility poles on Front Street by the Salty Pelican restaurant. That was a $500,000 project to remove the poles and bury the power lines underground.

Two other poles next to the Salty Pelican are scheduled to be removed by the end of May.

The revised Alachua Street plan included the installation of sleeves over the existing stormwater pipes that dump rainwater into the river. Workers also installed an infiltration system to provide stormwater treatment and storage.

Andre Desilet, the city's Public Works-Utilities director, told city commissioners last year that the Alachua Street project when completed would provide treatment capacity to a limited number of adjacent properties.

The work is being funded with $2.94 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and $700,000 in Community Redevelopment Area funds that went to CSX to help fund work on a new railroad crossing to make the Front Street connection.

The new crossing includes signaling over the railroad tracks and includes a pedestrian walkway.

Railroad officials were still dealing with the synchronization of the crossing gates in order to open the roadway. As of Sunday morning, the crossing gates were still not functioning properly.

Desilet told city commissioners that once Alachua Street is opened, it will include sidewalks and parallel parking on both sides.

New fencing along Alachua and parts of Front Street were also yet to be completed.