The Bonneville Power Administration held an informational open house Aug. 16 to inform the public about a transmission line upgrade project in northern Idaho.

BPA will replace about 340 wood poles and perform other upgrades on a 25-mile section of the existing Albeni Falls-Sand Creek transmission line to improve reliability of the line. The project area is on an existing right-of-way from the Albeni Falls Dam near Newport, Washington, to one mile north of BPA’s Sandpoint Substation in Dover, Idaho.

In addition, BPA will replace the existing conductor with a new, larger conductor on about 17 miles of the existing transmission line. The new conductor will allow the line to withstand more heat and more electrical current to improve reliability.

Although construction would not begin until 2009, BPA employees or contractors have been in the area upgrading existing access roads and performing other activities, such as danger tree marking and vegetation management in support of the project.