If you were driving in Banff National Park last week, you may have noticed a helicopter in the sky. This helicopter wasn’t hauling skiers to the mountaintop for a heli-skiing adventure, but was hauling poles and other materials needed to replace existing transmission structures.
The south transmission line crew is working to replace the 551 line as it has reached the end of its life-cycle, and is getting a little help from a heavy lift helicopter.
“The structures are set back into the trees and the only way to get the materials to them is to fly them in,” said Paul Evernden, Manager South Transmission Crew. “The helicopter hauled 27 loads of poles, hardware and rig mats to the structures.”
The five structures that are being replaced run along Highway 1A and are part of the line that provides power to Sunshine Village Ski Hill and the town of Lake Louise. This is the only line providing power to these areas so the crew is doing live line work to avoid de-energizing the line and causing power outages in those areas.
The work on 551 line began on October 15 and the crew is expected to complete the work by mid December.
The members of the south lines crew working on this project include Jordie Mckenzie, Work Leader; Andy Shaw, Steve Murdoch, Ryan Vanderwolf, Kord Gardner, Josh Andriuk, Brennen Marshall, Ted Graham and Paul Evernden. They’re also getting help from a crew from Bruce’s Excavating and Sean Duby’s tree trimming crew.
