Century II Investments

Century II is KUB’s long-range program to ensure safe and reliable utility services for its customers. With Century II, KUB and contractor crews work continuously on system upgrades and maintenance projects. These projects extend the life of utility system assets as much as possible and replace aging assets proactively to prevent service interruptions and ensure safety. The projects also benefit customers with the newest technologies and increased capacity to serve growth.

What To Expect During Construction

For most KUB construction projects, customers can expect the following activities.

Vegetation clearing

Tree pruning and vegetation clearance may be necessary within the utility easement or right-of-way prior to construction.

Traffic impacts

Projects may require intermittent lane shifts or temporary road closures. Traffic control measures such as barricades, signage, and flaggers are utilized to assist with maintaining pedestrian and vehicle traffic, and access is maintained for driveways and businesses. KUB posts traffic advisories on X (formerly Twitter) @KnoxKUB, on Nextdoor, and on its online construction map.

Work schedules

Crews primarily complete work during daylight hours Monday through Friday and may work on weekends or overnight as needed to facilitate timely project completion or to minimize traffic impacts. Overall project schedules may be affected by weather or the need for crews to respond to emergencies.

Roadway repairs

KUB temporarily patches affected areas in the roadway until the roadway is fully resurfaced or paved. KUB coordinates major construction projects with the City of Knoxville’s Resurfacing Program in an effort to complete construction projects before streets are paved. This results in cost efficiencies and helps to avoid disturbance of recently paved streets. KUB also coordinates with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and counties within KUB’s service area to plan and coordinate construction.

Customer property restoration

KUB makes every effort to minimize disruption to customer property. For areas where excavation occurs, temporary steps may be taken for erosion control. Final restoration is then coordinated by KUB or its contractor to place topsoil, grass seed, and straw when weather conditions are favorable.

KUB does not replace landscaping or other vegetation, aside from placing grass seed, within utility easements or within the safety zone around electric pad mounted transformers. KUB encourages customers to follow landscaping guidelines that help to avoid conflicts with utilities.

Service interruption

If service to customers must be temporarily interrupted during construction, KUB will notify the affected customers directly by door hangers or mail.