The heavy-lifting phase of ongoing construction of the nation's highest-voltage transmission line is now underway. Appalachian Power (Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.) is flying transmission towers from staging yards to tower sites in southern West Virginia utilizing a heavy-lift helicopter.

When construction is complete, Appalachian Power's 90-mile (145-km) Wyoming-Jacksons Ferry 765-kV, six-conductor bundle transmission line will connect power stations in Wyoming County, West Virginia, and Jacksons Ferry, Virginia, U.S., while improving the reliability of service in the company's West Virginia and Virginia service area.

The last major “backbone” 765-kV transmission line that was built to serve the area was completed in 1973, when customers set a peak usage of 2720 MW. Since then, peak energy demand has increased more than 135%. In 2001, customer peak usage topped 6400 MW.

Appalachian Power announced the Wyoming-Jacksons Ferry project in 1989, and it was approved by state commissions in Virginia and West Virginia in May 2001 and March 2002, respectively. In addition, the project crosses federal land. In December 2002, the U.S. Forest Service recommended that the power line be allowed to cross 11 miles (18 km) of federal land. Appalachian Power began clearing rights of way for the project in late 2003 and started construction in April 2004.

Appalachian Power's routes were selected by experts from Virginia Tech and West Virginia University. They were charged with finding the most reasonable, least environmental-impacting route available. Routing experts and the public provided input to the state commissions, which ultimately selected the approved route.