Summit Boulevard Has a Sewer Dig, a Debris Yard, and Open Tennis Courts This Winter

"Back in July, we did have a sanitary sewer overflow that took place around July 10," ECUA spokesperson Davis Wood told WEAR-TV in early October. The trenching along Monteigne Drive and Summit Boulevard is easy to mistake for hurricane cleanup. ECUA scheduled it weeks before Isaias, after that summer overflow.

Then the storm came, and the same corridor took on a second job. Roger Scott, the city complex on Summit, became one of two places where Pensacola is temporarily storing collected storm debris. So Summit Boulevard is now carrying two recoveries with different causes and different crews. ECUA is targeting early January for its finish, and by the city's own timeline the second debris pass runs into those same weeks.

The pipe under Monteigne gave out before the storm did

ECUA traced the July problem to aging pipe and roots. Wood told WEAR that about 27,000 gallons of wastewater overflowed into a nearby retention pond, "due to pipes that are aging and that had roots causing blockage. And that section of piping needed to be replaced."

The fix is a full replacement. In a City of Pensacola release dated Sept. 21, 2026, ECUA said it and its contractor, Talcon Group, LLC, would install about 4,800 linear feet of new 24-inch PVC force main, along with gate valves, fittings and couplings. That replaces the existing 24-inch ductile iron line. WEAR reported that this is a $2 million project and that more than 100 households in the area will benefit from the new main.

Here's how the route breaks down, as ECUA described it:

ECUA says no water or sewer interruptions are planned. Brief interruptions could happen in specific cases, such as a water service line or meter that has to be moved because it conflicts with the new main, and ECUA says it will notify affected customers one by one. Every area dug up during the work is to be restored "to their original condition or better" when the project wraps up.

Construction was forecast to start the week of Oct. 12 and run about 12 weeks. ECUA's November 2026 Customer Pipeline newsletter says construction began in October and is expected to continue into early 2027, with "temporary traffic impacts" along the way.

Roger Scott picked up the storm's half of the work

At the Scenic Highway end of the trench sits Roger Scott, the park cluster that much of Scenic Heights uses for tennis, dogs and youth sports. In its Oct. 19 recovery update, the city said collected debris "will be temporarily stored at Roger Scott and Goya Drive."

That decision moved youth sports out. The same update said Bill Bond youth sports would relocate from Roger Scott to Raymond Riddles Athletic Park on North W Street. NEP football would practice at the Brent Raiders field and play its home games at away locations.

The parts of Roger Scott people use day to day have come back. As of the city's parks status page, last updated Oct. 29, Roger Scott Dog Park is open and all courts at the Roger Scott Tennis Center are open. On Oct. 19, only the hard courts were open and the clay courts were still closed, so the clay courts reopened within about 10 days.

This means a Saturday on Summit this month looks different from last spring. The tennis and dog-park routine is back in place. Anyone heading to a Bill Bond game is driving to North W Street instead. And anyone coming from the Monteigne side passes active trenching on the way in.

How the two schedules line up

Here are the dates ECUA and the city have published, in order:

1. Week of Oct. 12: ECUA's forecast start for the force main replacement.
2. Oct. 19: The city reports 3,236 loads of vegetative debris collected citywide. Debris hauler D&J estimated the city could generate about 1 million cubic yards of debris in total.
3. Weeks of Oct. 26 and Nov. 2: Parks crews reassess smaller neighborhood parks.
4. Week of Nov. 9: Assessment of passive neighborhood parks, the ones with no amenities, is set to begin.
5. Nov. 21: The October Mayor's Neighborhood Cleanup, postponed by the storm, takes place.
6. Late November: The city expects every residential street to have had at least part of its debris collected on the first pass.
7. The following 4 to 5 weeks: A second debris pass, which the city says will "immediately follow the first."
8. Early January 2027: ECUA's target for finishing the force main.

Counting forward from late November, the second debris pass runs through December and into the first days of January. ECUA is aiming to finish the force main in early January too. If both hold, the holiday weeks are when Summit Boulevard carries the most at once, with the sewer trench in its final stretch and the second debris pass still running. The city has also said there will be multiple passes until all streets are cleared, so the debris side has no firm end date.

The order in which streets get picked up follows a set method. Pensacola's contractor divided the city into 25 zones based on sanitation routes and gives priority to areas with the most damage and the densest tree canopy, using the city's tree canopy maps. Safety hazards come first, such as large trunks or piles that spill into the roadway. Trucks then fill their remaining capacity with smaller debris. In practice, a crew may take one pile on a street and leave the next, or take part of a pile. The city's debris explainer says that's expected on the first pass.

The city also asks residents to keep two piles. Tree limbs and leaves go in one. Building materials, fencing, carpet, furniture and plumbing materials go in the other.

The parks near the trench that aren't on the reopened list yet

Bay Cliff Estates Park, the city park where the Monteigne Drive trench begins, is not on the city's Oct. 29 list of open facilities. Neither are Hitzman Park or Scenic Heights Park. The city's parks recovery update puts it directly: "Please stay out of all parks and off playgrounds until they have been inspected and officially cleared for public use."

Hitzman Park was still being assessed on Oct. 19, along with Bayview Park and Exchange Park. Before the storm, the city's Direction '25 project list showed Hitzman-Optimist Park's improvement work complete. The city was still exploring how to repair the adjacent "dry pond" that never dries. The recent upgrades there are why the park's reopening matters to the people who use it.

Parks that are cleared get added to playpensacola.com and announced on the city's social media channels. Even in reopened parks, the city asks visitors not to use electrical outlets until crews have inspected them.

A short drive from Summit, Tippin Park is on the city's open list. That gives the neighborhood one more reopened green space while Bay Cliff, Hitzman and Scenic Heights Park wait their turn.

Who answers which question

Each job has its own contacts, so a question about a trench and a question about a branch pile go to different places:

• The force main on Monteigne and Summit: ECUA Manager of Regional Services Brandon Knight, (850) 969-6650.
• Storm debris and downed trees: City of Pensacola Storm Debris Hotline, 1-833-495-3573.
• Hazards at a park or resource center: Pensacola 311, by dialing 311 from a local cell phone or through pensacola311.com.
• Help with storm cleanup: The BRACE Crisis Cleanup Hotline at 1-800-451-1954 connects residents with volunteer groups that may help with roof tarping, fallen tree removal and debris cleanup.

The city has also extended Pensacola Energy and Sanitation bills to Nov. 2. Recycling operations resumed Oct. 26. When ECUA's crews finish, Wood told WEAR the agency will return the roadways to normal.

If you own a home along Summit Boulevard or Monteigne Drive and want to know how this winter's work affects a sale or purchase timeline in Scenic Heights, the team at Avenue Realty follows these neighborhood projects week by week and is happy to talk it through. Schedule a Free Home Consultation, and we'll give you local guidance tailored to your street and your dates.