KUA ready for hurricane season

With the start of a new hurricane season, Kissimmee Utility Authority is ready to quickly and safely restore power should a destructive storm hit the Central Florida area, utility officials stated in a press release.
Utility employees recently completed a mock disaster drill to prepare for this year’s storm season. KUA uses lessons learned from the annual drill and from previous storms to improve its response to future storms.

Immediately after hurricane-force winds diminish, KUA’s crews are dispatched to patrol and assess damage and begin the complex process of power restoration. KUA has modified its storm plans over the years to improve flexibility in responding to different types of storm situations and to provide better information to customers.

To further facilitate its restoration efforts, KUA has increased its inventory of materials, equipment and tools that might be needed to repair storm damage. In addition, the utility has reciprocal contingency plans for assistance that can bring more workers from other utilities and contractors in Florida and from out of state, if necessary.

In the event of an outage, customers are asked to call KUA’s automated outage reporting line at 407-933-9898.

To help its customers prepare for storm season, KUA has released its 40-page 2011 Osceola Hurricane Handbook. The free guide can be downloaded at http://kua.com/hurricane.

Lane closures on Canoe Creek Road

Crews will be closing one-mile increments of the southbound lane of Canoe Creek Road (for a total of seven miles) from 1.5 miles south of Joe Overstreet Road as part of the ongoing Canoe Creek Road resurfacing project. Once the southbound lanes are completed, crews will then resurface the northbound lanes.

The resurfacing work and lane closures were set to begin Monday and continue through Monday, June 20. Work is scheduled daily during business hours; all lanes will be open by 5 to 6 p.m. every day.

This seven-mile portion is the first phase of the project that includes reconstruction of four box culverts and the milling and resurfacing of 13.5 miles from 1.5 miles south of Joe Overstreet Road to U.S. Highway 441. Following this phase, work is scheduled to resume around mid-July for the remainder of the project.

Motorists are urged to use caution when approaching these areas, as there will be temporary lane closures, but no road closures and reduced speed limits in certain areas. Traffic delays can be expected. Schedules could vary according to weather and equipment-related issues.

For more information, contact the Osceola County Community Outreach/Public Information Office at 407-742-0100.

Lane closures on Osceola Parkway

Work crews next week will be making asphalt repairs to West Osceola Parkway as part of the West Osceola Parkway Milling and Resurfacing project, according to a press release from Osceola County government.

From 8:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. nightly beginning Monday and running through Friday, June 24, work will take place in designated areas from the State Road 417 interchange to the Interstate 4 interchange.

Message boards will be in place to advise drivers of the upcoming project. Motorists are urged to use caution when approaching these areas, as there will be temporary lane closures, but no road closures.

Traffic delays can be expected. Schedules could vary according to weather and equipment-related issues.

For more information, contact the Osceola County Community Outreach/Public Information Office at 407-742-0100.