Pole Replacement in Fox River Presents Challenges

Pole replacements are generally routine, but a recent project near DePere presented a unique challenge because the pole was located in the Fox River and had distribution underbuild.

A routine maintenance inspection revealed that the structure on a line between Highway V and Nicolet Substations had a rotten pole and cross-arm. The project involved replacing the H-frame structure in its entirety during a planning outage. In order to replace the pole, ATC arranged for a crane on a barge. However, the water level at that point in the river was only 18" deep at low tide, so careful planning was needed to transport the crane and materials at the appropriate times of the day when the water was at its highest level. Crews shuttled to the barge in power boats. The poles could not be transported on the barge due to their weight, and instead were floated in the river and towed to the work site.

In preparation for the work, ATC issued press releases to the local newspapers and a local fishing internet site. Notification signs were posted at three boat launches in the vicinity of the structure and ATC Environmental notified the applicable permitting agencies of the work, even though no permits were required.

ATC collaborated with WPS to obtain an outage on the distribution underbuild line and to coordinate parts procurement and construction crews to replace old insulators on the distribution line.

The project was completed in two days. ATC Project Manager Jon Thoresen commented, "The project presented several unique challenges. In addition to the pole being in the middle of the Fox River, the shallow water and barge displacement dictated construction to start early in the year during the high-water season. To accommodate the local fisherman, ATC waited until after the spring walleye spawning run to begin construction."