The 6.2 miles of power lines were staked across northern Hall County before Lake Lanier was built in the 1950s and at a time when farms and pastures filled the landscape.
The scenery is much different now. In the decades since, neighborhoods have sprung up between Leach Road and an area off the lake between Thompson Bridge Road and Riverside and Island drives.
The growth is posing something of an engineering challenge for the 115,000-volt lines’ owner, Tucker-based Georgia Transmission, as it embarks on a $5.5 million plan to replace the outdated wooden structures with more durable steel and concrete ones.
“Unfortunately, there are some areas where vegetation has grown up in the (area around the power line),” said Craig A. Heighton, the company’s public affairs director.
“And if there are trees growing up into the line, that’s a huge safety concern.”
Georgia Transmission, a nonprofit cooperative owned by 39 electric membership corporations, allows many uses in the 125-foot-wide easement, such as roads, home gardens and farm plots.
via Co-op faces challenge in replacing power lines in Hall County.
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