EVERETT — Neighbors east of Broadway are watching where a future power transmission line will run.
Utility planners are evaluating further after receiving much feedback. The selection time frame could now be this summer, PUD spokesman Aaron Swaney said Friday. Previously, the utility intended to make a route selection by the end of the month.
The PUD says an additional line from a substation just south of downtown Everett to a substation in the Delta Neighborhood is needed to handle future power load needs.
Two options run up Broadway, and two others jog through neighborhoods east of Broadway.
Among the four options presented to the public, public comments oppose this line running through the neighborhoods, PUD transmission engineer Aziz Haq said during a presentation Feb. 20.
The public’s comments will be taken “heavily into consideration” as well as costs on selecting the final route, Haq said.
The Delta substation is just north of the State Route 529/W. Marine View Drive interchange.
The public comment period received more than 100 comments and there was a well-attended open house Jan. 24.
Running west of Broadway had no benefits, according to the PUD. The utility doesn’t want to tangle with Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad for easement rights.
Construction would be in 2027. It would use tall poles and carry up to 115 kilovolts.
“The line is really not just for the north, it’s for all the District,” Haq said on the line’s purpose.
Putting the transmission line underground is not usual protocol and would add 10 times the cost, Haq said.
