CapX 2020 in the news… see below.

REMEMBER — IF YOU ARE SERVED WITH PETITION FOR CONDEMNATION, YOU HAVE ONLY 60 DAYS TO FILE YOUR REQUEST FOR “BUY THE FARM.”

And in Wisconsin — public hearings on Badger Coulee, La Crosse to Madison, start the week after next:

Condemnations start along CapX2020 powerline route

Posted: Friday, November 21, 2014 7:50 pm

Jeff Kiger, jkiger@postbulletin.com

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Icy water, eagles factor into CapX2020 river crossing

 

 Posted: Friday, November 21, 2014 11:12 pm

Heather J. Carlson, hcarlson@postbulletin.com

ALMA, Wis. — On a blustery November morning on an island in the Mississippi River, a construction crew was hard at work using a massive crane and welding equipment to tear down a 70-foot-tall section of lattice tower.

It was all part of a $30 million effort to string the new CapX2020 transmission lines across the Mississippi River near Alma. The project is a daunting one, requiring the use of barges to transport 3,280 cubic yards of concrete, a 250-ton crane and 6 miles of steel pipe to an island and a peninsula in the river being used for the river crossing. Making that work even more difficult has been the earlier-than-normal cold weather.

“It’s been cold. We’ve been fighting with the ice, so we’re looking to get done in the next couple of weeks,” Zach Pontzer said on Friday morning.

Pontzer is the project manager for J.F. Brennan Co. of La Crosse, Wis., which is in charge of building the foundations for the structures, along with operating the cranes and barges. The project involves building a new 345-kilovolt transmission line adjacent to an existing Dairyland Power Cooperative 161/69 kilovolt line built in 1955. The double circuit line will be replaced with a triple circuit transmission line.

CapX2020 is a joint initiative of 11 utilities in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin to upgrade and expand the electric transmission grid. The total project costs more than $2 billion and stretches nearly 800 miles. Construction of the Hampton-Rochester-La Crosse section is expected to be completed in 2015.

For the river crossing, five 187-foot-tall structures are being built, requiring 15 pile-cap foundations. Those foundations are comprised of 362 16-inch steel pipe piles, with some driven into the soil as deep as 130 feet, according to Xcel Energy. A helicopter will be used to string the transmission lines across the river.

Also adding to the challenge is a shortage of concrete. Pontzer said his company was able to work with Wabasha Sand-Gravel-Ready-Mix to make sure that the project was given high priority for concrete because of the limited time before the river freezes.

In addition to these obstacles, construction crews also have to be keeping a close eye out for eagles. There are two eagles nests in the area and one of them is active. Xcel Energy spokesman Tim Carlsgaard said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service require all work on the project to stop as soon as the eagles return. That could happen in early January.

“This is just one of the many challenges of this river crossing,” Carlsgaard said.

Still, despite all of the challenges, the massive project is moving ahead on schedule. Pontzer said his company hopes to wrap up its work within two to three weeks. The goal is to have the river crossing completed by February.

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CapX2020 river crossing basics

Cost of Mississippi River crossing: $30 million

Estimated crossing length: 1.3 miles

Needed materials: 5 miles of steel pipe pile, 3,280 cubic yards of concrete

Getting from here to there: Requires 150 loads of concrete to be delivered to island and peninsula via barges

Finished product: Will involve a total of five 187-foot-tall structures to hold transmission lines and 15 pile cap foundations. Those foundations are strengthened with 262 16-inch diameter pipe piles with some driven down 130-feet deep into the soil. A helicopter will help string the lines.