Utility Work Thursday August 13th

FPU CEO and General Manager Britt Dye said a lane closure is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 13, along Huntsville Highway near the Dairy Queen and the new rental car business beside the car wash, in the area of Lincoln County High School.

The closure is expected to run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. while FPU crews install a water tap. “We’ll have a lot of work going on, so just slow down and pay attention to our men out there working,” Dye said. “That would help us out quite a bit so they can work safely.”

The Huntsville Highway project is just one of several utility projects currently underway. FPU crews are also working along Huntsville Highway South near Dunroamin Lane and on Morningside Drive, where crews have been removing concrete as part of ongoing work in the area.

Dye said crews have also been working on a water project on Algeria Street. An older pump station at the location has been demolished and removed, with additional work still needed to restore the area and locate and access the facility’s valves.

On the electric side, FPU crews are reconductoring and installing new utility poles along a stretch from First Avenue toward Lewisburg Highway. Additional pole replacement work is also taking place throughout town.

FPU’s tree-trimming crews are also working to catch up on vegetation management in rural areas, particularly around dead ash trees. “The weather, the way it’s been with a lot of rain, it don’t help the dead ash trees, but it’s helping these other trees grow,” Dye said.

The combination of construction, utility upgrades, vegetation management and summer temperatures has kept FPU crews busy. “It is keeping us pretty busy,” Dye said.

FPU is also continuing its telecommunications improvements as the utility expands its fiber-to-the-home network. Crews are currently working to splice fiber and complete the necessary preparations before individual areas can be activated. Once an area is ready for service, FPU will announce that fiber service is available to customers in that area.

With multiple projects taking place throughout the community, FPU officials are reminding drivers to slow down and remain alert when approaching work zones, particularly Thursday’s Huntsville Highway lane closure.