Overhead utility lines on Newport’s Balboa Boulevard are going underground

Work to place utilities underground on Balboa Boulevard in Newport Beach is expected to begin in spring.

Around April, Southern California Edison will start burying all electrical and other overhead utility lines along the heavily traveled stretch between Coast Highway and the Newport Pier. The project will be covered by Edison ratepayer dollars.

Edison did not provide information about the cost.

“It’s going to make a big difference once it’s done,” said Mark Vukojevic, Newport Beach’s city engineer and deputy public works director. The work should take about two years, he said.

Newer neighborhoods, such as in Newport Coast, are built with utilities underground and a premium is included in the cost of the homes. For older areas that make the switch, it’s usually funded through assessment districts initiated by residents.

The self-funded option, managed by Edison with some financing and permitting coordination by the city, can cost as much as $10,000 to $30,000 per home, plus $3,500 to $5,000 per home to tap into the grid.

A less common funding method, such as the one planned for Balboa Boulevard, uses money collected from all Edison customers. Those projects are along major roads where the improvements are considered to benefit the general public.

Newport Beach has had dozens of undergrounding districts over the years, said City Manager Dave Kiff.

Four districts have been approved around town in the past two years. Three proposed districts — on Balboa Island, in Corona del Mar and the Cannery Village area of the Balboa Peninsula — are in the petition phase.

But undergrounding takes time. One Corona del Mar neighborhood that approved the work in 2015 is expected to see it start this summer.

Utility undergrounding was a hotly debated topic around the Newport Heights neighborhood in 2015 and 2016, when campaigns to bury lines fizzled for lack of support. It would have required a homeowner-funded assessment district, and many residents balked at the price tag — up to about $30,000 per property.

It remains an issue in the area. According to city records, residents have requested a petition for a section bordered by Santa Ana Avenue, Broad Street, Old Newport Boulevard and Cliff Drive.

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