NEWPORT — Dormant plans to rebuild Thames Street were revived this week when the City Council unanimously voted to begin the engineering work necessary for the project.

But the extent of the project, including a proposal to bury the utility wiring underground, remains uncertain.

A resolution sponsored by Councilwoman Kathryn Leonard suggests that the design include lower Thames Street from Memorial Boulevard to Morton Avenue “with the final determination of exact project street length to be made subsequent to initial engineering and survey work, and subsequent determinations of the complexity and cost of the project.”

While her resolution did not specify burying utility lines, Leonard said at Wednesday’s council meeting that such work would be a dramatic improvement to the commercial corridor and should be undertaken during the road reconstruction.

“It makes no sense to go forward with the Thames Street project without putting the wires underground,” Leonard said. “There would be a whole new rebirth and renaissance on Lower Thames.”

In 2006, voters approved a $12-million bond referendum for road and sidewalk repairs. At the time, city officials said Thames Street was on the to-do list at an estimated cost of $5 million. But the council declined to put $800,000 in the budget for the engineering work.

Area merchants, represented by the Lower Thames Business Association, have been lobbying the city to reconstruct Thames Street.

As described in resolution, the scope of the project should include “road surface, sidewalks, complete streetscape upgrades, utility line improvements, and other physical elements.”

The resolution paves the way for the administration to put the engineering project out to bid.

Meanwhile, the council commended improvement efforts on Broadway spearheaded by a civic group. A council resolution praised the Broadway Improvement Organization for addressing “quality of life issues affecting the Broadway corridor from Washington Square to Bliss Road.

“The Broadway Improvement Organization has provided a forum to capture and focus the energies of the Broadway community in revitalizing this section of the city.”

The resolution was passed in advance of the organization’s neighborhood event, “Celebrate Broadway Block Party,” on Caleb Earl Street on Saturday.

rsalit@projo.com