PORT TOWNSEND — Five utility poles that were scheduled for removal in June will come down next week, resulting in a clear view on Taylor Street from Washington Street to the waterfront.
It is the last step in a $3.5 million renovation project that snagged downtown traffic in the spring.
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.
The removal of the poles will take about a week and will be done by a CenturyLink contractor, said Samantha Trone, a development review engineer for the city.
The city decided to defer the pole removal until after the three-day Wooden Boat Festival, which begins today, so that work would not be in progress during the busy weekend, Trone said.
The poles will be removed in time for the Sept. 23-25 Port Townsend Film Festival, which will show movies at five venues, including free shows on an inflatable screen on Taylor Street.
CenturyLink spokeswoman Jan 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.
“We scheduled a lot of these repairs at night so they didn’t interfere with the downtown merchants since summer is their busiest season,” she said.
“We wanted to accommodate their needs, but this caused the project to take longer.”
Other delays occurred when repair personnel were needed to deal with customer outages for active customers in the Port Townsend area, she said.
“Our priority was to serve the customers that needed their service to be restored,” she said.
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
