A Georgia Power line relocation project that’s covered a wide swath of Gilmer County is expected to wrap by mid-December.
It’s also been decided that the work, which has caused traffic delays in some areas, will be on hold for the upcoming Georgia Apple Festival.
Georgia Power’s Grid Investment Plan, a multi-year, multibillion-dollar project spanning several counties, is in its second phase here. The first phase of the project was mostly in the central part of the county, and work zones have included Industrial Boulevard, South Main Street, Tails Creek Road, Calvin Jackson Drive, Old Highway 5, Highway 382, Bobcat Trail and Legion Road.
The goal of the entire project is to improve electric service, mostly by burying — or “undergrounding” — overhead power lines to reduce power outages.
Installing automated line devices that confine power outages to smaller portions of an affected line and adding connections to lines to provide alternate sources of power during outages is also part of the ongoing project, noted Georgia Power spokesperson Craig Bell.
“While we expect a reduction in the number and length of power outages experienced by customers, we do not expect outages to be eliminated entirely,” Bell added. “Uprooted trees, vehicle and digging accidents and flooding can still cause issues with underground lines and related above ground equipment.”
In Ellijay, targeted portions of overhead power lines are still being routed underground, primarily through horizontal directional boring, confirmed Alicia Brown, Georgia Power spokesperson. Power pole replacement and maintenance is also being done in some areas, Brown noted.
Large spools of red conduit used to encase the underground power cables and such heavy equipment as Ditch Witches have become common sites on Ellijay roadsides in recent months, during which the work has continued or moved into areas along River Street/Highway 52 East, Industrial Boulevard and South Main Street. Traffic is still being reduced to one lane in some areas.
“So far, it’s not causing any big headaches to the county. We’re subject to the occasional flag person associated with (the project), but that’s not a terrible inconvenience,” said Charlie Paris, Gilmer County commission chairman. “I suspect it affects them probably more so in the city limits than in the county. It’s not as concentrated (in the county).”
More grid investment work could start in 2023 on the west end of Gilmer and into Pickens County, where the same project is still underway. That next phase could begin in late summer, if approved by the Georgia Public Service Commission.
With a busy fall event and tourism season at hand, construction crews are making plans to minimize effects on traffic during peak tourist times, Brown said.
The project construction is expected to be put on hold during both Apple Festival weekends, Oct 8-9 and 15-16, she confirmed.