Tennessee Valley Authority proposes route for new 11-mile transmission line
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has proposed a route for a new 11-mile, 161-kilovolt (kV) transmission line to support the 1,144-acre Infinity Megasite addition to Golden Triangle Global Industrial Aerospace Park in Columbus, Miss., and enhance overall reliability in the area.
The proposed route would extend west from TVA’s existing Columbus Switching Station to a new 161-kV switching station in Aresia, located just west of the Golden Triangle Regional Airport on U.S. Highway 82. Four miles of existing right-of-way would be used for the 11-mile transmission line, and new right-of-ways would be required for the remaining seven miles.
“The selected route is expected to have the least impact on the area, based on public input from the open house and additional evaluation of other factors including social, environmental and engineering impacts,” TVA stated. “A National Environmental Policy Act review is also pending.”
Plans call for TVA to begin surveying work this summer and to begin acquiring property easements in the summer of 2020. Construction is slated to begin in spring 2021, and completion is slate for summer 2022.
