Painter's Alley

City of Loveland Utilities is replacing aging overhead electric infrastructure in Painter’s Alley to improve safety and reliability in downtown Loveland. The one-block alley is located between Third and Fourth streets and Cleveland and Railroad avenues.

Years in the making, the project is part of a citywide effort to improve safety and reliability and reduce the risk of outages caused by high winds, severe weather and other hazards. Approximately 87% of Loveland’s electric system is already underground.

Construction will move through Painter’s Alley in stages to help maintain access and reduce impacts to downtown businesses.

What to Expect During Construction

Work will move through different portions of Painter’s Alley as construction progresses. Businesses and visitors can expect:

• Work in either the north-south or east-west portion of the alley at a time. Both will not be closed simultaneously.
• Temporary parking and pedestrian restrictions in active construction areas.
• Construction equipment, truck traffic and noise.
• Access for trash and recycling collection and deliveries to be maintained as construction allows.
• Some work to occur at night to reduce impacts during business hours.
• Planned power interruptions during certain stages of construction. Affected property owners and businesses will be notified in advance.

Project Scope

Crews will:

• Install new underground electric lines and equipment throughout Painter’s Alley.
• Install underground vaults and two transformers to serve properties throughout the block.
• Transition properties from the existing overhead electric system to the new system.
• Remove existing overhead transformers, power lines and other equipment after properties have been connected to the new system.

Read more about our power initiative in Painter's Alley: go.lovgov.org/news-PaintersAlley-8286

Construction Updates

Painter's Alley 11/2/26 Through 11/6/26

• Crews have completed installing underground pathways for electrical cables serving all businesses on the north side of the alley. Work will now focus on connecting those properties to the new underground electric system.

• Four additional businesses are scheduled to transition to underground electric service this week. The remaining businesses on the north side are expected to be connected next week.

• One property is also scheduled to transition to the new underground electric system on Monday.

• Work continues on the south side of the alley, where crews are preparing to dig trenches and install additional underground electrical equipment. Construction of the final underground electrical vault, which will serve businesses on the south side, is expected to begin next week.

• Crews will also continue filling and stabilizing excavated areas around newly installed underground equipment in the center of the alley.
  
  Coming up next week: Crews will continue connecting businesses to the underground electric system on the north side of the alley while advancing construction and equipment installation on the south side.

Alley access: Construction continues in the alley. Access may be affected as crews work, and through traffic is not permitted.

A completed section of Painter's Alley after crews moved electrical infrastructure underground

Painter's Alley 10/26/26 Through 10/30/26

• Crews were digging and performing underground boring on the south side of the alley for equipment and service installation.
• Four more properties were connected to underground service, and the areas that were dug out to make those connections have been filled and covered.
• Crews also began removing overhead transformers that no longer serve customers who have already been switched to underground service.
• Overall project completion is estimated at just under 50 percent, with significant progress in primary and secondary underground electrical equipment installations. Service transfers and equipment removal are also beginning to move quickly.

Multiple electrical infrastructure equipment being placed underground at Painter's Alley.

• Crews continued installing new underground electric lines to help transition equipment and services underground. The first property at 140 E. 4th St was connected to the new underground service with five more customer connections planned next week.
• Digging on the east side of the alley completed and crews have been working to fill in and stabilize excavated areas. Construction will now move to the north side of the alley for installation of another underground vault and more underground lines that will connect the additional five properties with service switchovers planned next week.

Electrical infrastructure being transitioned underground at Painter's Alley.

Painter's Alley 10/12/26 Through 10/15/26

• Crews plan to continue with full closures of the alley in order to start excavating the North part of the alley. This could change depending on the work that gets completed.
• If crews proceed to the North part of the alley, then they will be excavating more trench and installing more conduit and another 5x5 vault withing the gravel portion of the alley to the North.

Painter's Alley 10/5/26 Through 10/8/26

This week:

• Crews ran into some issues with unlocated underground utilities.
• Due to the unlocated utilities crews had to pivot from their original plan and move some of the new infrastructure around within the alley to eliminate potential future issues.
• However, they were able to open up the East part of the alley and start installing some of the new conduit infrastructure along with a smaller vault that still allowed for future growth potential.
• Due to the set back, crews will have to keep the alley closed through the weekend for the East section. This is being done for safety reasons because there is quite a bit of the main East part of the alley open and excavated. They are able to use steel plates to cover the excavated trenches and holes, but the plates are not designed to have weight from delivery trucks or trash trucks. They are also hoping for limited foot traffic if possible.
• They are hoping to potentially have most all of the new infrastructure installed on the East part of the alley by the end of day Thursday and might be able to have all excavated areas within that part of the alley back filled with flow fill.

Next week:

• We plan to continue with full closures of the alley next week in order to start excavating the North part of the alley. This could change though depending on the work that gets completed the remainder of this week. We will keep you updated early next week.
• If we do proceed to the North part of the alley, then we will be excavating more trench and installing more conduit and another 5x5 vault withing the gravel portion of the alley to the North.

Painters Alley 9/28/26 Through 10/01/26

• East side of the alley will be closed
• Conduit trenching will begin behind 120 E 4th St, heading east, and will continue through to 325 N Cleveland Ave.
• A 5’×5’ vault will be installed approximately 20 feet west of 325 N Cleveland Ave
• New conduit installation will be performed by trenching from the 5’ × 5’ vault to the existing meter gear serving the business on the east end of the alley.

Painters Alley 9/21 Through 9/24

• Beginning 9/21, City of Loveland Utilities will excavate an area behind the Love Shack at 120 E 4^th St at the alley T to install a new 5x8 underground electric power vault.
• The vault will feed one or more new transformers, to be installed the week of 9/21 or 9/28, weather permitting.
• The new transformers are due to be energized the week of October 5.

Week of Sept. 21

Construction begins Monday, Sept. 21, in the middle portion of Painter’s Alley behind The Love Shack, 120 E. Fourth St. Crews will remove asphalt and begin installing a new underground vault and two pad-mounted transformers. This phase is expected to take approximately three to four days.

Sept. 21–24

• Work is scheduled from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday.
• The immediate construction area will be closed to pedestrian traffic during work hours and reopened after crews leave each day.
• Trash and recycling collection and deliveries will remain accessible from the east side of the alley near Cleveland Avenue.
• Expect construction noise, particularly while asphalt is being removed.
• Traffic control will be in place while crews are working.
• The work area is expected to reopen for the weekend after crews finish Thursday.

Construction schedules may change as work progresses. Check this page for the latest information about work locations, closures and other impacts.