New transmission lines that span four townships in Champaign County are being installed from AES Ohio’s Urbana electric substation on Hickory Grove Road to KTH Parts Industries on state Route 235 and to the AES St. Paris substation on U.S. Route 36 west of St. Paris.

Tree cleanup began in 2022, the power lines are projected to be in service early this year and cleanup will begin later this year, according to information from AES.

“AES Ohio is investing in the electric transmission system to meet the economic growth and reliably serve all customers in Champaign County,” said AES Corporate Communications Director Mary Ann Kabel. Customers who own property or live in the area where AES Ohio is performing construction received a postcard on the transmission project, she said.

The project begins at Hickory Grove Road in Urbana Township heading west, continues southwest on state route 55 into Mad River Township, continues north at state route 560, continues west at Nettle Creek Road, continues north at Kite Road, continues west at Runkle Road into Jackson Township and continues north on state Route 235 before reaching its end points.

“Local manufacturing and residents will be positively impacted by increased reliability within the area,” Kabel said.

The project ends in Champaign County just west of state Route 235 at the St. Paris substation.

Some landowners and neighbors in the project area have expressed dismay at the size of the transmission poles and concern about the ability to fly crop dusters over farm fields with the significantly taller poles and lines near the farmland.

The project has used existing right-of-ways provided for utility service along the roadways. Right-of-ways are not owned by the property owners.

When asked why AES largely chose the path along state highways, county roads and township roads rather than U.S. highways for the project, Kabel said, “There is a multitude of factors considered to select a route.”

Kabel said this project is not affiliated with any potential utility-scale solar installations in the area and “is not directly intended to supply energy to EV (electric vehicle) charging stations.”

The main AES customer benefiting from the project is KTH, based on information provided by AES.

According to its website, KTH Parts Industries is a Tier-1 automotive supplier for underbody structural parts, providing automotive components to companies worldwide. KTH opened for business in 1985.

Local rights of way, road safety

The Champaign County Engineer’s office provides permits to work in the right of way on county and township roads in Champaign County.

“A contractor for AES contacted our office about the project on April 18 of 2022,” said Champaign County Engineer Stephen McCall. “The plans were reviewed, and several discussions were had concerning the placement of their infrastructure.”

McCall explained his office cannot prevent utilities from being constructed in the right of way per the Ohio Revised Code.

“However, we can approve where they can be installed in the right of way. Depending on the type of construction and design requirements, we can negotiate the placement of the poles in the right of way,” McCall said.

Any pole location beyond the right of way requires an additional easement from the property owner. AES did obtain additional easements for this project, McCall said.

“After reviewing the proposed 276 poles, 101 poles were adjusted to move them farther from the road,” McCall said. “We have been inspecting and assessing any road safety issues created by the new installation. Where a new base pole was installed at the Runkle and Kite Road intersection, we installed a painted stop bar to assist drivers with obtaining a clear sight distance. The pole does not block the sight distance, but the stop bar helps the drivers stop at the best location to see both ways.”

The Champaign County Safety Plan has been focusing on young drivers and has a special event planned this spring at Graham and Mechanicsburg.

“We have also invited Triad schools to take advantage of this program,” McCall said when asked about raising teen driver awareness about new utility infrastructure along local roads. “Last year, we had a similar event at Urbana High School with West Liberty-Salem participating. We have been focusing on specific road segments and intersections with safety studies and the other emphasis areas identified in the plan.”

The plan can be found on the engineer’s website: https://engineer.co.champaign.oh.us/.

The Champaign County engineer has also been awarded a Federal Safe Street 4 All grant to update the Road Safety Plan and add new LED lighted signs at a few targeted intersections.

Anyone interested in becoming a Local Road Safety Plan stakeholder can contact the office at 937-484-1972. The next stakeholders meeting is at 10 a.m. on April 2, 2024, at the Champaign County Community Center.