ANAHEIM : Overhead Lines to Be Moved Underground
Overhead utility lines in the area of Santa Ana and Citron streets in central Anaheim will be moved underground as part of a five-year program to beautify the city, make the lines more reliable and improve public safety.
The creation of an “underground district” by the City Council puts utility companies on notice that the conversion will take place along Santa Ana Street and various cross streets from Claudina Street to west of Walnut Street.
Work is to begin in January and continue through most of next year.
Pacific Bell and MultiVision Cable will be responsible for the cost of moving their utility lines. The $3.8-million cost of burying city-owned power lines will come from electric rates.
Along with offering aesthetic benefits, the conversion is intended to increase public safety by removing overhead wires that could fall on the street in heavy winds or earthquakes.
Traffic safety will be improved, city engineers said, by eliminating utility poles and the visual obstructions created by wires.
One portion of the new underground district, the corner of Santa Ana Street and Manchester Avenue, was found in a recent survey to have the highest accident rate of any intersection in the city. Another intersection with a high rate of accidents, Santa Ana and West streets, is also included in the district.
The project is part of a $45.9-million plan, approved by the council in April, to take all city utilities underground.
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