Alachua to Front Street route set to Open

Final street paving, fencing and railroad crossing synchronization will be completed this 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 Utility 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.

Florida Public Utility workers on Front Street last Friday.

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 guardrails in order to open the roadway. As of Sunday morning, the crossing guardrails were still not functioning properly.

Once opened, Desilet told city commissioners that parallel parking would be included on both sides of Alachua along with sidewalks.

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

City crews paving parts of Alachua Street last Friday.