NIPSCO Project Starts in Spring, Commissioners Hear
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
Begun in 2013, the 100-mile, $270 million system improvement project will connect substations in Reynolds, Burr Oak and Topeka. It will cross Kosciusko County north of Warsaw.
The project is designed to move power across the region from where it’s generated to where it’s needed, Larry Graham, NIPSCO director of public affairs, told commissioners. It also will make it easier to tie wind power into the electric system, since “that’s where a lot of the power generation is coming in,” he said.
The right of way clearing process began late last year, with the removal of vegetation and the use of erosion control measures, Graham said. They also are making sure permits are in order and have checked the maps for existing features like regulated drains so they can design around them.
The next step is to deliver material, including pole segments, cross arms and conductors, to sites along the route. The towers will be a monopole rather than the more familiar lattice design, he said, which will have smaller footprints on the ground.
Installation will start in White County and reach Kosciusko by late spring or early summer. Completion is expected by the end of 2017 and should be done no later than June 2018, Graham said.
Also this morning, commissioners:
• Approved the Area Plan Commission’s recommendation to vacate two alleyways in the southeast corner of Oswego at the request of petitioner Robert Cunningham. He also had requested the vacation of half of a 66-foot-wide platted roadway, but the commission suggested taking eight feet on either side of the road would be more fair while keeping access open for future development.
• Heard that County Emergency Management Director Ed Rock has been deployed by the state to Baltimore, Md., for eight days to help with recovery following the weekend snowstorm that buried the east coast. Rock is the financial director for the state emergency management district including Kosciusko and surrounding counties.[[In-content Ad]]
Begun in 2013, the 100-mile, $270 million system improvement project will connect substations in Reynolds, Burr Oak and Topeka. It will cross Kosciusko County north of Warsaw.
The project is designed to move power across the region from where it’s generated to where it’s needed, Larry Graham, NIPSCO director of public affairs, told commissioners. It also will make it easier to tie wind power into the electric system, since “that’s where a lot of the power generation is coming in,” he said.
The right of way clearing process began late last year, with the removal of vegetation and the use of erosion control measures, Graham said. They also are making sure permits are in order and have checked the maps for existing features like regulated drains so they can design around them.
The next step is to deliver material, including pole segments, cross arms and conductors, to sites along the route. The towers will be a monopole rather than the more familiar lattice design, he said, which will have smaller footprints on the ground.
Installation will start in White County and reach Kosciusko by late spring or early summer. Completion is expected by the end of 2017 and should be done no later than June 2018, Graham said.
Also this morning, commissioners:
• Approved the Area Plan Commission’s recommendation to vacate two alleyways in the southeast corner of Oswego at the request of petitioner Robert Cunningham. He also had requested the vacation of half of a 66-foot-wide platted roadway, but the commission suggested taking eight feet on either side of the road would be more fair while keeping access open for future development.
• Heard that County Emergency Management Director Ed Rock has been deployed by the state to Baltimore, Md., for eight days to help with recovery following the weekend snowstorm that buried the east coast. Rock is the financial director for the state emergency management district including Kosciusko and surrounding counties.[[In-content Ad]]
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