ST9302-CS 940907 From lA
~te corridor for the reloca-
~ lines. Currently, the lines
he intersection of Thweatt
Coppell Road to the west
~terstate 35E in Carrolton
Frankford Road and Trinity
fficials said ~because TU
requires a 20-foot clear
~ach side of the poles, the
e perpetual easement for a
route would be $2 million,
nt that does not include
damages to any land on
.~ transmission lines would
d.
~ said she and other resi-
o are concerned about the
~gnetic fields that the lines
. She said her family con~
tecided to locate a fair dis-
au powerlines.
.~ have been. no definitive
n whether these (electro-
'.fields) cause cancer or
;cts," she said. ~'We like to
caution, especially for
ags that are unknown."
greed that conclusive stu-
Ne possible harmful affects
of electromagnetic fields, have not
been released; however, the state's
Public Utility Commission will not
allow any spedal provisions to be
made, including tile burying of the
lines, for fear of electromagnetic
emissions.
"(Electromagnetic fields) is a
national issue being studied, and the
Department of Energy is spending
$60 million-plus for research to be
completed within the next five
years," he said. "There are un-
answered questions about (electro-
magnetic fields) and their impacgon
health. And because you can't se~, it,
there is definitely a fear factor.
King said people are expose~ to
electromagnetic emissions on a t~ily
basis in the average household.'~
"It's not just powerlines or trans-
mission lines,' he said. "It's distribu-
tion lines, too. When you sit in front
of a computer terminal or use a m~.c-
rowave or have fluorescent lights in
your house, you are exposecL'to
(electromagnetic fields)."
Landscape exhibits are being pre-
pared and will be available for review
at Town Center, 255 ParkFf~y
Blvd., beginning Monday. The hot-
line number is 304-0955. The pu~c
hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. Oct.~3~at
'['own Center.
'
Wednesday
tSeptember 7, 1994 50 cents
TU transmission Po. les sP' ark concerns
~y JENNIFER GOOCH
~aff writer
~ Residents' concerns over where
0 place TU Electric transmission
~les when reconstruction on Sandy
.ake Road begins have prompted
:ity officials to open an information
~otline and schedule a public hearing
on the subject.
The City Council approved place-
ment of galvanized-steel transmis-
sion poles in the median that will
divide the proposed four-lane con-
crete thoroughfare running from De-
nton Tap Road to MacArthur Boule-
vard. However, council members
added the condition that a 30-day
advertising campaign be initiated to
show the public what the poles will
look like.
:The poles will be single circuits
with three arms extending off one
side. Each arm will carry a wire,
according to Kirk King, district man-
ager for TU Electric.
The existing transmission lines
are held by wooden poles standing
about 50 feet tall, placed 300 feet
aPart and carry a voltage of 69,000,
King said. The poles were built in
the 1940s by Brazos Electric. cost to the city.
The new poles would stand be- Residents have expressed con-
tween 90 and 110 feet tall, w°uld be cerns to both city and TU Electric
placed 500 feet apart and would car- officials regarding the "unsightli-
ry a voltage of 138,000. ness" of the steel poleS,
"In the '40s, 69,000 voltswas the "Our primary concern is the aes-
state-of-the-art," King said. "The thetics of these pol~s," said local re-
138,000 voltage is today's state-of-
the-art."
The city's plans to widen Sandy
Lake Road will require the relocation
of the transmission lines~ which are
now on the south side of the road-
way. TU Electric has offered to
move the lines to the median at no
sident Becky Chairgz. "It seems
that strict city codesand ordinances
are one thing for bUild,s, but for
these towers it is another thing."
The city has proposed;four op-
tions for the electrical lineS~includ-
ing placing the poles in the median.
Information provided by city officials
states, "In addition to relocating (the
lines) to the median at no cost to the
city, TU Electric would release the
rights to their existing easement
along the south side of Sandy Lake
Road and would commit to have no
north/S°uth aerial crossings over
Sandy Lake Road."
Another option is to relocate the
existing lines further south, which
would necessitate acquisition of
additional easement rights along the
south side of the road. There would
be a cost to the city of relocating the
transmission lines in addition to the
cost for the additional right-of-ways,
city officials said.
Another option would be to bury
the lines underground at a cost of
$7.5 million to the city. This option
offers the most aesthetically pleas-
ing solution; however, at each end of
the underground section, a mini-
substation would have to be con-
structed to transfer the lines from
overhead to underground, city offi-
dais said.
The final option would be to obtain
Turn to TU, Page 6A