Judge OKs transmission-line construction

BRIGHAM CITY — A judge has signed an order that will let Rocky Mountain Power continue construction of a transmission line through the city of Willard, which last week denied the company a conditional-use permit for the project.

First District Court Judge Ben Hadfield signed the order on Thursday. Rocky Mountain Power says the order lets the utility construct access roads, build base pads for power poles and perform survey work. The order will remain in effect until late July.

Rocky Mountain Power filed a lawsuit last week after the Willard City Council, on a 3-2 vote, denied the permit after taking comment and hearing from an electrical magnetic field expert.

The transmission line would stretch from a substation in Downey, Idaho, to the Ben Lomond substation in Willard.