"We are almost complete. We have a few more transmission lines to actually pull the wire on," said Sabrina Taylor, Oncor Electric Delivery area manager, saying that towers along U.S. 81/287 south of Decatur and another tower north of the Karl Klement dealership are the final towers. "We expect to have that wire pulled in those areas later in the week. There should be crews in the area working on that wire."
Oncor is also replacing the original wooden structures used to run the wire with steel and concrete structures.
"We will continue to remove the old wooden line that was there along 287 south. That original line was built in the 1920s," Taylor said.
"This upgrades the wire, the conductor and also replaces those old wooden poles. It makes for a much cleaner easement right-of-way."
The switching station connects transmission lines throughout the area, including lines from Decatur to Eagle Mountain Lake, Decatur to Bridgeport and Decatur to Krum.
"All of those lines go to different substations, providing power to a particular area.
"They move the electricity that is generated throughout the state," Taylor said. "The switching station will allow for additional switching in the event of a catastrophic storm where there's been damage to the transmission lines in the area. It will allow for a quicker response in moving that electricity to another transmission line."
Oncor chose to locate the switching station close to the Bennett Road substation. The company already owned land adjacent to the substation and was able to acquire additional land to accommodate the switching station.
