A long-awaited, occasionally de-funded and now re-funded project is about to grace downtown Winchester.

The Winchester Board of Commissioners recently approved a contract to replace the utility poles and mast arms at the intersection of Main and Broadway streets. The project will replace the wooden utility poles and wires with black metal posts and arms, similar to the streetlights in downtown, City Manager Matt Belcher said.

The project, he said, has been in the works since 2008 with state funds, he said. As administrations changed, the state canceled the funding for the project. When the money was reinstated later, work resumed again.

The arms should be installed by Nov. 1, according to the terms of the contract with Davis Elliot Company, Belcher said. Constructing the arms themselves will take three to four months, he said. Another part of the delay was to seek input from Main Street Winchester about the design of the poles and arms, he said.

Kentucky Utilities also had to commit to moving the lines and wires, Belcher said.

“That was a process,” Belcher said.

The board of commissioners approved the $132,104 contract 4-1. Commissioner Shannon Cox cast the dissenting vote.

“Kids who were born when this started are in the fourth grade now,” he said. “It’s time to kill this thing. Put a knife in it now.”

Burtner said traffic lights at three intersections in downtown remain on wooden posts and wires. Those were not included when utility lines in downtown were buried several years ago, he said.

“We should have done these” when the other electrical work was ongoing, he said.