A new power line recently approved by the Public Utilities Board (PUB) will cross through Pippy Park and over the Long Pond trail system to a new substation for Memorial University.
The project has been planned for years, but the path of the power line hasn’t gotten much public attention.
According to the Pippy Park Commission, which approved it in September 2017, the power line route will have a minimal effect on the park landscape, and it was subject to review among stakeholders, which included MUN, the PUB, and the departments and agencies involved in the project.
The new substation — the second for Memorial University — is to provide reliable, additional power to MUN, to the Health Sciences Centre, the new science building and future development at MUN and at the province’s biggest hospital, such as the proposed new Waterford Hospital.
The power line crosses the trails near Leary’s Brook and, according to project details, buffer zones will address the effect on the trails.
Several routes were suggested before settling on the final one.
The power line will be about 1.4 km long and about 15 metres wide, and will consist of about 20 poles with a height of roughly 13 metres.
The new line will go from MUN to the Oxen Pond Substation, while the new electrical substation will be located on the north side of the MUN campus behind the National Research Council building.
There was no environmental impact assessment required by the government.
Pippy Park Commission chairman Sean Kelly said Tuesday the majority of the route chosen is through a part of the park that “is not really suitable for public use due to a significantly steep incline and rough terrain.”
Transportation and Works is the project manager and the provincial government is paying for the work.
PUB approval came at the end of January as part of a capital expenditures application supplemental to Newfoundland Power’s approved 2019 capital budget because of land rights and project scheduling. (Transportation and Works, according to the approval document, has agreed to reimburse Newfoundland Power for work on the project — 2019 expenditures are $4.6 million.)
The new substation will be operational by December.
“The existing substation dates to the early to mid-1960s, with another transformer added after the fact,” said Jeff Boland, director of operations and maintenance at MUN.
“Having the redundancy will be a great comfort for us. … We’re right at the cusp of our capacity with the new science building,” he said.
It will also allow MUN to take equipment down and do maintenance without affecting operations.
According to a Q and A document provided by the commission, most of the construction work on the new power line will be out of public view and detours will be clearly marked.
Kelly said when construction begins on the pole line, Newfoundland Power will post signage and use social media to notify the public of any planned disruption to the trail. This would be only temporary until the power line is installed above the trail, he said.
Although the route of the pole line will be cleared, when the vegetation returns it will look similar to an existing pole line that runs from Larkhall Street to the Oxen Pond Station, Kelly added.
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