American Transmission Co. placed in service a new 138-kV electric transmission line connecting the Sprecher Substation, located near the Sprecher Road / CTH BB intersection, with the Femrite Substation, located on Femrite Drive near the I-90 /USH 12/18 interchange in Dane County, near Madison, WI.
Construction began last spring on the underground portion of the line, running along Buckeye Road east of the Interstate 90 and north on Sprecher Road to the substation on Cottage Grove Road. Construction on the overhead portion from the Femrite Substation to I-90 and Buckeye Road began last summer and wrapped up recently—several months ahead of schedule and under budget.
The four-mile transmission line helps support local electricity needs and back up other critical facilities on the system. “It also will help to strengthen the reliability of the transmission system serving the east side of Madison and neighboring communities,” said Mark Williamson, ATC vice president of major projects. “The electrical path that has been completed around the city with this line provides an alternate path for electricity to flow in the event of an outage on another line.”
This project is one among several needed to reinforce the electric system in and around Dane County. “This project is one of our critical short-term upgrades to Dane County’s transmission network,” Williamson said. “It gives us a solution and helps buy us a bit of time to work on our larger projects.”
ATC expects to reach milestones in 2007 on several other projects in Dane County.

• Final proposed routes will be announced in later this year for the 345-kV Rockdale-West Middleton project.
• A decision is expected this summer on the 138-kV line proposed for the Waunakee area.
• The 138-kV proposed line between Verona and Fitchburg is being reviewed by the Public Service Commission with public hearings expected this summer.