Upgrading Service on a Tight Timeline

Solution

To maintain a single source of responsibility for the transmission line rebuild project, AEP selected Burns & McDonnell under an engineer-procure-construct (EPC) contract to provide complete permitting, right-of-way (ROW) acquisition, design, procurement and construction services.

The project team was responsible for negotiating and acquiring all ROW for the transmission line rebuild, creating a 60-foot-wide corridor for the project. Working in a five-month acquisition window to meet schedule needs, we prioritized the parcels according to the construction schedule, conducted an open house to identify potential landowner concerns, and negotiated easement agreements.

Aging wooden transmission line pole structures were replaced with 270 80-foot-tall steel monopole structures for greater power resilience. We also installed 64 new concrete pier foundations and 206 foundation culverts.

The Quinn substation rebuild was a unique challenge in that it needed to be completed during an eight-week outage window. The existing transformer was removed and the concrete oil containment system was replaced. We installed a new transformer, regulators, switches and structures. On-site activities were coordinated so that the concrete removal subcontractor, transformer installer and testing subcontractors could all be on-site simultaneously.

Demolition of the Lapaz substation involved regulated material testing, removal and equipment salvage. This older substation was replaced with the new 69/13-kV Vintage substation, built on a 3-acre site. We designed and constructed the new structures, including protection and controls equipment and all associated transformer protection and distribution feeder relaying. Hitting key milestones on time and in accordance with the utility’s outage schedule was critical, because once the outages started, the system could not be re-energized until the Vintage substation was complete.

Results

The project was successfully completed on schedule, with the upgraded 69-kV transmission line and substations providing better reliability and greater capacity to St. Joseph and Marshall counties in northern Indiana.

The EPC delivery approach enabled several efficiencies in expediting the project work. Having a single source of responsibility streamlined efforts to maintain the aggressive project schedule.

For example, along the transmission line route, some soil conditions did not match previous soil borings, requiring longer structures and larger foundations. To maintain the strict timeline, we devised location-specific foundations that used materials readily available on-site. Additionally, given the brief eight-week window for the Quinn substation rebuild, the team devised lighting plans to extend the availability of working hours.

The land acquisition personnel developed an offer matrix, which matched parcel values against existing property values in the area. This facilitated the team’s ROW acquisition on its expedited timeline.