AEP installing new metal power poles between Bucyrus and Shelby

Crews working for American Electric Power have been replacing transmission lines and poles between Bucyrus and Shelby.

Maggie Beggs, project outreach supervisor for AEP, said the project involves rebuilding about 15 miles of power line and building about 10 miles of new power line.

"Replacing them definitely strengthens the power grid, reduces the likelihood of power outages in the future, speeds recovery of service when outages do occur," she said. "So there's lots of different improvements with rebuilding that line as well as building the new power line, too."

Additional information is available on the project website, aepohio.com/bucyrus-shelby, she said.

"There's an interactive map there; you can see what parts of the project are going to be rebuilt, where they're currently located. There's a new line that's going to be built as well. ... The reason that we're doing it is the wooden poles date back to 1916. They have reached the age where they do need to be replaced, so we're replacing those with steel mono poles. A majority of them are going to be rebuilt where they're currently located."

The new steel poles are 95-110 feet tall, according to the project website.

The rebuilding project project stretches along Crestline Road from southeast of Bucyrus to Ohio 602, then a new line zig-zags south to a substation on Galion-New Winchester Road, according to the project website. From there, a line heading back north to Crestline Road will be rebuilt, as will a section east of that point, along Crestline Road. New lines will be added northwest of Crestline. From the railroad crossing near Hook and Thrush roads north of Crestline, lines will be rebuilt to the Howard substation near Hummell Road, northeast of Bethlehem.

The new line south toward Galion will provide an additional feed into the existing substation, "and that really improves reliability," Beggs said.

Work is being done by Harlan Electrical Construction, based in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

The estimated completion date for the project, which started in 2020, is in the summer or fall of 2023, Beggs said.

This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: AEP project includes installation of new metal power poles