CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Appalachian Power Company will be removing 17 miles of transmission line in a remote part of Lincoln and Cabell County in the months ahead. Company officials wanted to make the public aware of the effort which might draw considerable attention.
“They’re going to see some work over the next few months with helicopters and you’re going to see road closures and things like that while we remove these transmission lines,” said George Porter of Appalachian Power.
The removal comes after the completion of new poles and line installation on what the company called “The Lincoln-Logan project.” The new work will be in a rugged area which is difficult to access with heavy equipment, so the poles will be removed through the air. It will be a highly visible project and Porter said they wanted to alert neighbors about what was going on.
“Anytime you have helicopters flying poles in or out, you’ll automatically get calls. This is our way of giving the heads up that we’re working in those areas,” he said.
The poles are wooden and were installed in the 1940’s and 50’s. They’re replaced with modern steel structures which are much taller and sturdier. Although the lines are being removed, the company plans to retain and maintain the right of way for possible future development.
“We try to hold onto those so if down the road 20 to 30 or 50 years later it’s a lost easier to build on a right of way we already have. If we hold onto it we will maintain it,” he explained.
The timeline for the project is the duration of the summer. Porter said they hope to have the work done by the end of summer, but added a lot of the timing depends on weather conditions and whether the helicopter can fly.