The 96-mile transmission line and the substation are being built in northeast Missouri to bolster energy reliability for the region.
Recently, ATXI started construction on the site of the Zachary Substation adjacent to the existing Adair Substation in Adair County, Missouri.
The new substation will have capacity to transform high-voltage electricity from the transmission system to lower-voltage electricity, which is then supplied to homes and businesses through distribution lines.
ATXI chairman and president Shawn Schukar said: “After two years of listening to and collaborating with local communities, we’re delighted to begin construction on the Mark Twain Transmission Project.
“When it’s complete, the project will provide multiple benefits to the people of northeast Missouri and the greater region. These project benefits include economic growth, increased tax revenue, greater energy reliability and improved access to renewable energy sources, such as wind.”
ATXI’s contractor, L. Keeley Construction will start building various access points along the transmission corridor from nearby public roadways, later this month.
Upon building access points, L. Keeley will dig and pour concrete structure foundations.
ATXI construction supervisor Chuck Twellmann said: “With any construction project, our goal is to complete the work as safely and as quickly as possible.
“As construction moves forward, we’ll continue to work closely with landowners and community members to ensure the building and property-restoration process flows smoothly.”
Scheduled to be commissioned in December 2019, the transmission line will run through Adair, Knox, Lewis, Marion and Schuyler counties in Missouri.
ATXI said that the transmission line will be nearly 100% co-located on existing rights of way that include Northeast Missouri Electric Power’s 161,000-volt line between Palmyra and Kirksville and Ameren Missouri’s 161,000-volt line from Kirksville to the Iowa border.
