Stephanie Croston

    After months of hearings and public input, the Nebraska Public Power District has finalized the route for its new 345 kilovolt line, which will stair-step through Seward County on its way from Columbus to Lincoln.
     Representatives of NPPD met with community and business leaders Jan. 23 to review the route and how it came to be selected.
     "The focus was to minimize the impact on landowners," Ed Wagner, vice president for customer service and reliability, told the group.
     The primary purpose of the project, however, is reliability for the NPPD's system.
     In 2006, load growth projections showed the need for a connection between Columbus and Lincoln.
     Projections were based on residences, commercial and industrial development, ethanol plants coming online, irrigation and the proposed Keystone Pipeline, Wagner said.
     The NPPD talked to the Nebraska Department of Roads, Nebraska Game and Parks, Nebraska State Historical Society, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, natural resources districts and the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, as well as soliciting input from residents and landowners who could be affected by the line.
     "It was a deliberate, methodical and diligent process," Wagner said.
     During the open houses held throughout the project area, the primary areas of concern were residents and agricultural land, he said.
     The project was designed to impact those as little as possible.
     Based on input received from the public during the open houses and public hearings, the NPPD decided to double circuit the line as much as they could.
     That means they will use the existing 115 kV line route and add the 345 kV line to it.
     Wagner said that will increase the project's cost by three to five percent.
     The line will be double circuited from Columbus to the Butler/Seward County line and from 224th Road east to Lincoln's Northwest 68th and Holdrege Substation.
     Craig Holthe, project manager, said the NPPD used a tabulation process that reviewed distance of the line from homes, numbers of center pivots impacted, how many angles the route would require, the length of the route, the number of trees affected and businesses along the route.
     Another key was being able to keep the route on the section and half-section lines, which is required for the NPPD to use eminent domain if necessary.
     The next step will be conducting land surveys and soil tests along the proposed route, Holthe said.
     Agents will be requesting right-of-entry permission. Appraisals of the land will be done, and engineers will determine which side of the road to put the poles on.
     The NPPD must submit an application to the Public Service Commission in March to ensure the lines and poles meet the required safety codes.
     Holthe said the NPPD must meet the requirements in the National Electrical Safety Code.
     Right-of-way will be acquired for easements and location of structures, Holthe said.
     The right-of-entry agreements have nothing to do with the easements, he said.
     They are just to allow the surveyors and soil testers to enter the property to do their jobs.
     Universal Field Services will be conducting the right-of-way services, Holthe said.
     They have an office in Seward at 1519 West Highway 34, Suite 2.
     Holthe said people working on the project will have cards with the project logo on them to identify themselves.
     Construction is scheduled to begin in August or September. Poles for the single-circuit lines will be between 110 and 160 feet tall and six to eight feet in diameter, in addition to being buried 20 to 30 feet deep, Holthe said.
     The double-circuit poles will be 140 to 180 feet tall, seven to nine feet in diameter and 25 to 30 feet deep.
     The poles will be approximately one-quarter mile apart, giving ample room to span center pivots, Holthe said. As the line gets closer to Lincoln, however, the poles will get shorter and closer together.
     For more information on the project, visit the website at www.nebtrans.com.