Rocky Mountain Power needs more than one new power corridor built through Davis and Weber counties in the next few years. Besides the controversial 345,00-volt transmission line from Box Elder County to west of the Salt Lake Airport, the company also needs the smaller, Ben Lomond to Gentile Street project — a 138,00-volt line with five or six substations.

According to Steve Rush, community manager for Rocky Mountain Power, these two projects may be confusing, but this smaller line is needed by June 2010 to keep pace with an approximately 3 percent increase in demand for power annually in northwest Davis County and western southwest Weber County.

This 20-mile transmission line will go from west Gentile Street in Layton to the Hooper/West Haven area. Height and style of the lines will be similar to the wooden pole line already in place along Layton's West Gordon Avenue. The new line will connect with existing lines.

Rocky Mountain has now identified a prospective corridor for this power route and has notified all property owners within 600 feet. The company has also held two public hearings.

Rush said most cities have expressed a desire for the new line to closely follow the proposed north Legacy Highway corridor, but that's an impractical route to follow everywhere.

"Now alternate routes are being defined," Rush said.

Some of the power corridor being considered is in the Bluff Road area. It will go north to 700 North and then follow 6700 west in unincorporated Weber County.

The exact route will be identified by late summer or early fall.

A few steel poles may be needed for this line to handle occasional steep angles. Otherwise, it will be 80- to 100-foot-high wooden poles, about 300 feet apart, in a 50- to 60-foot right-of-way.

Rush said transmission stations need to be three to five miles apart. The six proposed substations will be located near Layton's Gentile Street, one in Syracuse, two in West Point, one in Hooper and another in Hooper/West Haven.

These substations are typically about 250 feet by 250 feet and require a two-acre site. Currently Rocky Mountain has identified possible substation sites in a mile radius of the target locations.

More information on the project is available at rockymountainpower.net/transmission.

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