American Transmission Company (ATC) began construction this spring on new power lines that will run from We Energies' Pleasant Prairie Power Plant to the Zion Energy Center in Zion, Illinois. The purpose of the project is to relieve congestion in the transmission of electricity between southeastern Wisconsin and Illinois and to improve the overall stability of regional power transmission.
Approximately 5.3 miles of electrical transmission lines will be constructed. The new lines will run roughly parallel to the Union Pacific railroad lines (the eastern most set of railroad tracks located west of Green Bay Road). The transmission lines will travel along steel monopole structures (as seen in the image above). ATC completed public outreach related to the project during 2011 and subsequently received approval for the project from the governing bodies in both Wisconsin and Illinois. Work on the lines is expected to be complete in May of 2014. The cost of the project was estimated to be just over $30 million.