PORT TOWNSEND — When Taylor Street renovation began this winter, it was expected that all work would be finished in time for the Port Townsend Film Festival.
That would have provided an unobstructed view for the free movies offered on Taylor Street during the festival that will begin Friday and extend through Sunday.
Instead, the pole removal — the last step in a $3.5 million renovation project that disrupted downtown traffic for several months — will take place after the festival ends.
The sidewalks were replaced and utility poles removed on the west side of the street in June, but five poles still remain.
CenturyLink spokeswoman Jan Kampbell said they will be removed after the installation of guy wire holders into the sidewalk, which is slated for Wednesday.
It will take several days and will require street closures to remove the poles, Kampbell said.
Kampbell said she doesn’t have a schedule for the closures, only that it would happen “in the next few weeks.”
Film Festival Executive Director Jeanette Force isn’t worried about the delay, saying “we always had a Plan B.”
“It actually works out better for us this way,” she said.
“We can run the power cable for the projectors from the utility pole instead of having to connect on the top of the Rose” Theatre.
Force said that the removal of the transformers on the west side of the street was the most important change.
“In past years, the transformer was smack in the middle of everything,” she said.
“This year, it’s gone and you will really notice the difference.
“It will improve the sight lines.”
The movies will be shown on an inflatable screen at the corner of Taylor Street and Water Street with the audience seated on bales of hay.
The movies will be shown at dusk with “E.T.” on Friday, “The Empire Strikes Back” on Saturday and “Tootsie” on Sunday.
During construction, underground conduits were installed as part of the sidewalk replacement project.
Poles for cable television and electricity on the west side of the street were removed in June after the lines were channeled through the conduits.
Removal of the poles on the east side of the street — which carried phone lines — was scheduled for the same time but was delayed when CenturyLink did not order the needed wire in time.
At the time, City Manager David Timmons criticized CenturyLink for “forgetting to order the cable” while a CenturyLink spokesperson said the wire was not ordered until the quantity of wire needed was supplied by the city.
Kampbell said there were “a number of unexpected variables” that caused the delay, the conduit was in the wrong place and needed to be relocated, and some operational changes suggested by the merchants also were put into effect.
Kampbell said that CenturyLink has been careful to consider the requirements of the merchants as well as the film festival and has tailors the project to fit those needs.
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
