How much to bury wires on Short Street?

The historic Lexington courthouse promises to be a beautiful landmark. The wires around the courthouse are underground on three sides, but they remain on poles on Short Street. Short hosts street fairs and markets and is lined with historic structures. Surely, it would look better without all those wires.

How much would it cost to put them underground? When citizens ask this sort of question, it is often answered with eye-rolls and “You don’t even want to know.” Yes, I do, but I don’t know who to ask. Kentucky Utilities? LFCUG street maintenance personnel? Some other department? How much would it cost to bury the wires between Limestone and Mill Street (about 800 feet), or continue the project on down to Broadway (less than 400 feet more)? I hope to get a fairly specific answer — not “about $1 million dollars per mile, but it depends on all sorts of things.” We are talking about less than a quarter mile, in an urban setting, and I am eagerly awaiting the number. Many thanks to whoever steps forward with the estimate, because then we can start looking for the money.

This story was originally published November 17, 2017 at 7:21 PM with the headline "How much to bury wires on Short Street?."