Georgia Power is ready to boost the juice on Savannah’s southside.
The utility will host a pair of informational meetings today addressing what it has labeled the Little Ogeechee-Truman Parkway 115 kilovolt project. The initiative involves installing bulk transmission lines along Middleground Road and Montgomery Crossroad to increase capacity for southside neighborhoods.
Construction on the $40 million-plus project is to begin in 2015. Georgia Power will begin negotiating easements with property owners along the route following today’s meetings. Those sessions are scheduled for 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. today at The Armstrong Center.
“It’s been a good system that’s served the area well as it has developed over the last 50 years,” said Matt Gignilliat, Georgia Power’s project manager. “As load continues to grow on the southside, we want to up the capacity.”
The new 115 kV lines will replace existing 46 kV lines and involve 90-foot-high poles. Georgia Power also will build a new substation, located behind the J.C. Lewis Ford dealership on Abercorn Street, upgrade a substation near Oglethorpe Mall and retire three lower voltage substations along the route.
The planned transmission lines will link recently built substations near St. Joseph’s Hospital and Memorial Stadium at the Truman Parkway.
The transmission line route and substation location were deemed to have the least impact on residences and businesses. Construction could result in lane closures but will not shut any road completely, Gignilliat said.
The 7.25-mile route also avoids areas where road improvements are planned, such as where the Truman Parkway will connect to Abercorn near St. Joseph’s Hospital.
Georgia Power wants to split project construction into two pieces, Gignilliat said. The first phase, to link the St. Joseph’s substation to the new substation behind J.C. Lewis Ford, is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2015 with completion set for that fall.
The second phase will start at the completion of the first phase and should be finished in early 2016.
IF YOU GO
What: Georgia Power’s Little Ogeechee-Truman Parkway 115 kilovolt project information meetings
When: 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. today
Where: The Armstrong Center, 13040 Abercorn St.