A helicopter and heavy-duty air saw is being used to trim trees along a 138,000-volt transmission line in Alger and Marquette Counties this week through early August.
The aerial saw work will be conducted along approximately 50-miles of transmission lines between Munising and Gwinn, partially within the Hiawatha National Forest.
American Transmission Co. has contracted with Aerial Solutions, Inc. to manage vegetation growth along its transmission line corridors. This work will be accomplished using an aerial power saw with rotary blades that is suspended from a helicopter on a 90-foot vertical boom.
Aerial saw work is highly efficient when compared to the work of ground-based crews. “It takes just a few hours for an aerial saw to complete what typically takes ground crews several days to accomplish,” said Darren Throop, ATC senior vegetation management specialist. “However, the aerial work is weather-dependent so the duration of the work could fluctuate.”
Managing the growth of trees and other vegetation near high-voltage transmission lines is important to help ensure public safety and electric system reliability. ATC performs routine vegetation management on its over 10,000 miles of transmission lines in five-year cycles.
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