Alice to Falfurrias and Calallen to Stadium Transmission Line Rebuild Project

Project Overview

To support the reconstruction of a critical transmission corridor in southern Texas, AEP selected Mortenson to engineer, procure, and construct the rebuild of 64 miles of existing transmission infrastructure. The project upgraded the corridor from 69 kV to 138 kV class, rebuilt associated distribution infrastructure, managed right-of-way acquisition, and completed construction across active communities while maintaining a focus on customer communication and public safety.

Customer Impact

The project required extensive coordination with customers, landowners, local stakeholders, and community members throughout planning and construction. Approximately 20 miles of distribution underbuild remained energized while reconstruction activities were performed, requiring careful sequencing of work through six separate outage windows over more than fourteen months.

Construction took place across agricultural land, residential neighborhoods, urban environments, and areas adjacent to community facilities, including a high school. To help reduce impacts to homes and businesses, the project team managed customer notifications associated with distribution reconstruction activities and emphasized communication among AEP, Mortenson, trade partners, and the local community throughout planning, construction, and project closeout.

Key Takeaways:

• Self-performed transmission structure installation, conductor installation, distribution line construction, and demolition of existing transmission facilities.
• Reconstructed 64 miles of existing transmission infrastructure across southern Texas communities.
• Upgraded the corridor from 69kV to 138kV class.
• Removed existing single-pole and H-frame wood structures.
• Rebuilt approximately 20 miles of energized distribution underbuild while construction activities were underway.
• Executed construction through six separate outage windows spanning more than fourteen months.
• Managed customer notifications to help reduce impacts to homes and businesses during reconstruction activities.
• Completed construction with no public safety incidents.