Preparation work to refurbish a 19km overhead power line running between electricity substations in Frodsham and Capenhurst will get under way this week.
National Grid’s major eight-month project will help keep the lights on in Cheshire West by installing new wires and fitting on the 51 pylons which make up the line, which has been in constant service for nearly 50 years.
Electricity supplies will not be affected by the work, but some tress and vegetation will be cut back and trackways laid to provide temporary access for workers and materials over the next three months.
Work on replacing the line and its fittings will begin in August and is expected to be completed by the end of December.
Martin Bretherton, National Grid project manager, said: “The line between our substations in Frodsham and Capenhurst was commissioned just under 50 years ago and has given us excellent service ever since.
“However, the wires and the fittings on the pylons are now reaching the end of their lifespan and so we are going to install new ones.
“This will ensure that power continues to flow uninterrupted along this line, helping keep the lights on in West Cheshire and beyond.”
National Grid is writing to home and business owners along the route to explain what they will see as work gets under way.
Ecology surveys have been done in along the route to make sure the project causes as little disturbance as possible to local wildlife and work will comply with environmental legislation.
