The City of North Bend announced, Tanner Electric Cooperative (TEC) will begin phased construction of a new transmission line on Tuesday, July 7th. Construction is weather dependent.
Phased work on the new, two-mile long Middle Fork Transmission Line – part of a multifaceted plan to better serve TEC customers – starts near Torguson Park and ends at the Snoqualmie Valley Trail (SVT) and SE North Bend Way intersection. It is expected to be completed by mid-August.
The new transmission line has been in the works for over two years.
According to a city news release, twenty utility poles will be placed along the middle of the route located within the Snoqualmie Valley Trail corridor. Clearing of approximately 15 large trees and 35 small trees is expected [with permit approval]. Minimal closure and re-routing may occur and will be managed by Tanner Electric.
In an earlier story, TEC General Manager Steve Walter explained the new Middle Fork Line – consisting of 32 wooden power poles, each about 40-45 feet tall – “will provide part of the much-needed redundancy that will allow maintenance to be performed on critical equipment without an outage to the entire system.”
Future work in 2021 includes installing 12 more poles and additional tree removal to accommodate line stringing. The transmission line will connect to the future Middle Fork substation.
TEC will work with King County and the City of North Bend on a vegetation management plan to mitigate for the loss of tree canopy, remove invasive vegetation, and improve the vegetation along the trail. Planting for both phases is expected in early fall 2021.
Estimated timing for the construction work:
Clearing pole sites – 8 Working days beginning July 7, 2020
Pole Setting – 16 Working days beginning July 27, 2020
