Fairmont, W.Va. – Mon Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), relocated a half-mile stretch of a high-voltage transmission line in Tucker County for the construction of a new Corridor H highway bridge that is part of a West Virginia initiative to increase economic prosperity in historically hard-to-reach communities.
The $3-million project eliminates power line interference and clearance issues with the new bridge. Sections of the 138,000-volt transmission line that link substations near Elkins and Parsons were reconstructed on five new steel monopoles farther up the mountainside. The relocated portion of the line maintains necessary electrical clearances by crossing the new bridge high overhead rather than passing 150 feet beneath the bridge along its original route.
Crews used a crane truck to hoist the steel poles, which stand between 90 and 100 feet tall, onto concrete foundations just north of U.S. Route 219.
“Mon Power is committed to doing our part to accommodate not only this particular Corridor H bridge work, but also a long list of highway projects under the state’s Roads to Prosperity initiative,” said Holly Kauffman, president of FirstEnergy’s West Virginia operations. “More accessible roadways, combined with Mon Power’s safe and reliable electric service, can help enhance economic activity in the region.”
The line relocation is part of FirstEnergy’s plans to invest about $189 million in 2018 on distribution and transmission infrastructure projects to help enhance service reliability and meet future economic growth for its customers in Mon Power’s 34-county West Virginia service area.
Mon Power, a FirstEnergy electric distribution company, serves about 385,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. Follow Mon Power on Twitter @MonPowerWV and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MonPowerWV.
