American Transmission Co. (Wisconsin) crews are removing trees and clearing woody vegetation within an existing electric transmission line right-of-way between the Saukville Substation and the St. Lawrence Substation (located northeast of Slinger in the town of Hartford). The work, which began the third week in September, is in advance of a project to replace the old structures and wires along the right-of-way.

“It’s been many years since the right-of-way in some areas has been cleared or maintained,” said Mary Carpenter, local relations representative. “We want adjacent landowners to be aware of the extent of clearing that is needed to prepare for the replacement of the old structures. The appearance of the right-of-way in some locations will be significantly altered, and we want neighbors to know what to expect.”

According to Carpenter, right-of-way maintenance is done primarily for electric reliability reasons. “In this case, the clearing is driven by the upcoming construction work. But the removal of trees and vegetation also will ensure the safe and reliable operation of the new facilities for many years to come,” she said. “We are required to meet certain federal standards for vegetation management on our rights-of-way to prevent electric system outages.”

ATC has notified landowners of the upcoming clearing and tree removal, which will begin on the west end of the line near the St. Lawrence Substation and continue through the end of the year, wrapping up in Saukville. A final notification will be made by the forestry company, Wright Tree Service, who will provide a phone number for property owners who may have questions or concerns.

The construction work to replace the 60-year old poles and wires on the existing 138-kV electric transmission line will begin in mid-October as portions of the right-of-way are cleared. This 19-mile corridor needs upgrading to support the additional output from the Port Washington Generating Station when the second unit is placed in service in 2008. The voltage of the line will remain the same at 138 kV when the new facilities are placed in service in late April 2008.