National Grid project will route lines through northern R.I.

NATIONAL GRID ON MONDAY announced that work will begin on the Interstate Reliability Project in Rhode Island this month. The project is one of four identified by grid operator ISO New England as being critical to improving the reliability of electricity delivery in the region. Above, an illustration of the two transmission line routes that will be constructed in Burrillville and North Smithfield. / COURTESY NATIONAL GRID
NATIONAL GRID ON MONDAY announced that work will begin on the Interstate Reliability Project in Rhode Island this month. The project is one of four identified by grid operator ISO New England as being critical to improving the reliability of electricity delivery in the region. Above, an illustration of the two transmission line routes that will be constructed in Burrillville and North Smithfield. / COURTESY NATIONAL GRID

PROVIDENCE – National Grid will begin work this month on the Rhode Island segments of the Interstate Reliability Project, a multimillion dollar effort to improve New England’s electricity transmission system.

The utility company will invest approximately $200 million to rebuild and realign existing transmission lines, construct new lines, and relocate and rebuild the Sherman Road Switching Station in Burrillville.

The Interstate Reliability Project runs through Rhode Island in two segments: an 18-mile route through Burrillville and North Smithfield and a second, 5-mile route running north from North Smithfield to the Massachusetts border.

The first phase of the project will involve clearing vegetation along an existing right-of-way transmission corridor where the new Burrillville-North Smithfield route will be built. Construction of new power lines and refurbishing of existing lines will begin in May, and work on the 5-mile segment running to the state border will also begin in late spring.

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Both segments of the Interstate Reliability Project in Rhode Island are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2015, National Grid said.

The Interstate Reliability Project is one of four New England East-West Solution projects identified by grid operator ISO New England as being critical to eliminating bottlenecks in the region’s electric transmission system and improving reliable electricity delivery. National Grid’s total investment in the project in Rhode Island and Massachusetts will be approximately $800 million.

As part of the Interstate Reliability Project, National Grid will permanently preserve approximately 142 acres of undeveloped forest land in Burrillville and North Smithfield. The land will be given to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, the North Smithfield Land Trust, the Burrillville Land Trust and the Woonsocket Water Department.

For more information about the Interstate Reliability Project, visit www.interstatereliabilityproject.com.

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