Southwestern Electric Power Co. plans to invest $23 million to rebuild about 11 miles of existing transmission line in the Texarkana area, according to officials.
The project will ensure continued reliability to area customers and will provide vital support for local economic development, according to a press release from Scott McCloud, a SWEPCO spokesman.
SWEPCO will host a come-and-go informational open house 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, May 4 at the Texarkana Texas Convention Center, 4610 Cowhorn Creek Road.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. and visitors can arrive at any time during the open house to learn more about the improvements, review maps and talk with project representatives.
The project involves upgrading existing line and replacing wooden poles with single-pole steel structures. The transmission line begins at the company's 39th Street Substation, extends along State Line Avenue and ends at the Bann Substation, located on U.S. Highway 82 in Nash, Texas. A short extension of this line to the Red Lick Substation will also be rebuilt as part of the project, McCloud states in the press release.
Right-of-way agents will begin contacting landowners along the existing route to discuss the need for land surveying and securing any necessary property easements, he said.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2018 and be completed by late 2019.
For project details, schedule and interactive map, visit swepco.com/texarkanaareaimprovements.
SWEPCO serves 530,000 customers in western Arkansas, northwest and central Louisiana, northeast Texas and the Texas Panhandle.
SWEPCO's headquarters are in Shreveport, La. News releases and other information about SWEPCO can be found at swepco.com. SWEPCO is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, delivering electricity to nearly 5.4 million customers in 11 states.