Speaker of the House James Amann, D-Milford, who is also chairman of the neighborhood committee, said a consultant will be hired to assess the costs and potential impact of submerging or moving utilities along Route 1. The study could cost $60,000 to $100,000, and take up to six months, he said.

Digging up the road surface and running cable, electric and phone lines underneath could cost $1.5 million to $5 million, Amann said. "It would likely be somewhere in the middle," he said.

The cheaper alternative of removing poles and lines from the street and moving them behind stores along Bridgeport Avenue could cost up to $2 million, he said.

United Illuminating Co. spokesman Al Carbone said his company submitted a proposal to the Devon committee last August. It put the price tag of submerging UI disbursing lines at $1.5 million to $2 million. "It's definitely doable," he said.

The UI proposal did not include other utilities, he said. An inclusive project would need "a lot more planning before you get a final figure," Carbone said. He said the final figure would likely be closer to the $5 million mark. Construction could take up to two years, he said. The Devon section of the city is undergoing a state-funded $3.6 million revitalization that includes new sidewalks, benches, street lamps, a furbished park with a clock tower and other aesthetic amenities. It would need additional state funds to bury utility lines.

"They have funds for the study," said Robert Gregory, the city director of economic development. "But not enough to do underground work." Gregory said the committee was recently granted $2.5 million in state funds but needs a more accurate assessment before proceeding with a plan.

UI is the only company that has provided the group with a proposal, Gregory said. A large, complicated project would need to be well coordinated, and he has not received proposals from AT&T, Cablevision or Fibertech, Gregory said. Gregory said the three firms that were interviewed to engineer the second phase of the neighborhood revitalization project would be asked to submit proposals, he said. Any construction on Bridgeport Avenue would also require state Department of Transportation approval and oversight.

Vin Moran, who covers Milford, can be reached at 878-2130.