Nomination Board Recommends Seven Areas For Utility Wire Undergrounding

Alameda Municipal Power’s district nomination board [ed. note – correction – the board is City of Alameda board, not an Alameda Municipal Power board] has filed its recommendation for seven areas in Alameda where overhead utility lines should be moved underground.

The five member nomination board, comprised of four members of the public and one member from the city’s public works department, met through the summer and fall to discuss and score candidate areas.

In the end, the following seven districts will move to the utility’s technical advisory committee for review:

• Otis Drive (High to Broadway and south of Otis Drive)
• Webster Street (All crossings – Central Avenue to Eagle Avenue)
• Broadway (Buena Vista to Clement)
• Broadway (La Jolla to Encinal; La Jolla)
• Central Avenue (Eighth Street to Webster including Garden Way)
• Fernside (Encinal to High Street)
• Park St (San Jose to Otis)

Officials will seek public input on the list, and then send it to Alameda city council for final approval.

Construction could start as early as the second half of this year. Alameda Municipal Power estimates that half of the city’s power lines are already underground.