The Links Phase 1 Utility Relocation
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Our team was retained to provide professional engineering services including contract preparation, utility coordination, and bidding and construction administration services for the Links Stage 1 Utility Relocation Project. The road widening project, referred to as “The Links” by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), was bound by SR 60, Memorial Highway, Spruce Street, and George J. Bean Parkway (the entrance to Tampa International Airport). It was a major multi-interchange reconstruction, and all utilities within the project had to be relocated.
Our work involved the innovative relocation of 12 utilities into a 25-foot-wide corridor provided by FDOT from Cypress Street to SR 60, crossing Fish Creek via an 8-foot utility trench. The utilities ranged from 2-inch to 16-inch pipelines for City of Tampa water, sewer, and reclaimed; Verizon, Bright House, AT&T, and Level 3 lines; and TECO electric and gas. We developed a unified utility design that allowed joint relocation of facilities before FDOT construction, reducing interchange construction time by two years. To create an accurate depiction of all utilities, survey and subsurface engineering were used during the pre-design phase.
Environmental permitting of the Fish Creek crossing and historical wetlands bounding the western edge of the project were key project elements requiring negotiations with two road agencies and seven regulators.
We provided relocation design and construction services for the water mains and force mains at Tampa International Airport (TIA). The City’s 16-inch water main and 14-inch force main on George J. Bean Parkway, serving TIA, was impacted by the new FDOT ramps. The new water main and force main were constructed in a dedicated easement provided by the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. The project involved approximately 21,500 linear feet of water, sewer, and reclaim pipelines, 20,000 linear feet of conduit and cable systems, 5,000 linear feet of gas main, and 5,000 linear feet of power conduit infrastructure. The final corridor was paved and developed into a community bike/hike trail.
This project received the 2007 Florida Highway Administration Excellence in Utility Relocation and Accommodation Award for Innovation in Utility Engineering, presented to The Ash Group (now Ayres), the Florida Department of Transportation, District 7, and The City of Tampa.
Project Information
Client's NameCity of Tampa
LocationTampa, FL
Primary ServiceTelecommunications + SUE
MarketLocal Government
