Parsons Road Tree Removal – Transmission Line Upgrade Project
Contact: Tony Chartrand, Supervisory Engineer, 231-932-4562, tchartrand@tclp.org
PARSONS ROAD TREE REMOVAL & TRIMMING
BARLOW TO PARSONS TRANSMISSION LINE UPGRADE PROJECT
Traverse City, MI – As part of Traverse City Light & Power’s (TCL&P) efforts to ensure reliability to our customers, the utility will be upgrading 2.71 miles of transmission line from Barlow to Parsons Road. The reconstruction was requested from both MISO to meet certain capacity contingencies as well as the FAA to correct a clearance condition near the airport.
As part of the project, the utility will be undergrounding facilities along the north side of Parsons. In order to construct the trench and avoid other utilities located in the same location, the utility will need to remove a large number of trees, mainly scotch pine, between the Parsons Road right-of-way and the Oakwood Cemetery fence, from Airport Access Road west for approximately 1,550 feet.
TCL&P’s contractors, Asplundh Tree Expert Co. and Thunder Bay Tree Service, will be performing the tree removal and trimming along the north side of Parsons Road, which is to begin May 31, 2022, and is expected to be complete by June 13, 2022. Following this, TCL&P’s construction contractor, Newkirk Electric, will begin installing the trench.
A significant replanting with colorful native trees and shrubs, such as arborvitae and native bushes, is planned as soon as practicable. This will ensure that the trees will not grow to a height that will impede required FAA runway clearances as well as add some color during the spring and summer to this corridor.
Please use alternate routes avoiding this area to reduce congestion, delay and promote worker safety. Appropriate signage and barricades will be in place in and around the work area.
We would like to thank you in advance for your patience and cooperation. Please contact Tony Chartrand, Supervisory Engineer at 231-932-4562 if you have any questions or concerns about the work or schedule.
MAP – Impacted Area
Restoration Plans
Board Memo – 5/10/2022
Frequently Asked Questions
Parsons has had multiple projects along and under it in recent years, why didn’t TCL&P bury the line during one of those projects?
This particular line segment was not flagged by MISO (the regional transmission grid operator) as being undersized until 2019. Prior to this, the line was adequately sized and didn’t have to be upgraded. Due to the cost and scope of the project, a multiple year process was undertaken to determine the best route and design of the line as well as budgeting for this large cost.
Why can’t the line be built closer to the road?
Given the depths and separation of the existing utilities along Parsons, there simply isn’t enough space to construct a line between these utilities or the road until the point where the water line crosses the road just west of the hydrant. Trees will not be cut down west of this point.
Why can’t this line be built on the south side of Parsons?
There are many more utilities on the south side of Parsons including high voltage distribution, gas, sewer, and communications. These utilities currently occupy all of the room on the south side of Parsons.
Will this line have to be dug up in the future for further upgrades?
TCL&P is installing an additional set of conduits to allow future expansion as well as oversizing the conduits to allow larger or higher voltage cables to be installed. This will ensure that this line will have a life of 100+ years.