The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) on April 13 approved a minor route adjustment for American Transmission Co.’s (ATC) Rockdale-West Middleton transmission line.
The minor route adjustment, referred to as MRA4, in Madison, Dane County, will require less than one-half acre of additional tree clearing, which would be partially mitigated by up to $100,000 for re-vegetation of the right-of-way with “low growing plants consistent with a transmission right-of-way [ROW],” the PSCW noted in a letter to ATC. The adjustment will not result in any new environmental impacts or the need for another environmental impact statement, nor will it involve additional construction costs, the commission said.
According to the PSCW, modifications included shortening the structure span lengths, strengthening the structures to minimize conductor sway, and utilizing structures with longer arms that would face a highway. These changes narrowed the width of the transmission ROW within and adjacent to the Odana Hills Golf Course, in order to minimize tree and shrub clearing requirements, the commission said in the letter.
The PSCW acknowledged that the city of Madison has had concerns about the aesthetics of the adjustment, which would relocate the project’s centerline about 20 feet closer to the golf course than the ordered alignment. Transmission structures would still be located on Department of Transportation right-of-way, the commission noted.
“No new property owners are affected by MRA 4,” the commission said. “This MRA will require additional ROW from the city of Madison of approximately 1 acre.”
