Project Swan Safe status Aug 17 2021
On Monday, August 9, construction crews completed the road cut across Kirner Road and utility crews began installing conduit through which power line conductors and WAVE cable would subsequently be pulled. By the end of Tuesday, the trench had been cut along the west side to the corner of Kirner and Woodcock, remaining conduit installed, and the excavation backfilled. About 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 11 Clallam County PUD switched electric power flow from the overhead lines on the east side of Kirner Road to new buried conductors. Early the next morning they removed the de-energized lines which had caused injury and death to Swans. These acts achieved a major goal of Project Swan Safe, organized by the Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society (OPAS). Granted, the project is not quite done. Today, the WAVE broadband cable still hangs from unneeded power poles. The poles and WAVE cable line will be removed before the end of August. Final billing and accounting remain to be completed. But the underground lines now provide full service to users and the threat to swans from these overhead power lines is gone. Click here to read the complete update.
Below are photos of the project. Click on each photo to enlarge.
Setting new riser pole. This is one of two new riser poles installed as a part of this project. A riser is the pole used to transition from overhead lines to under ground. Photo: John Acklen
This photo shows the drill utilities used to set new poles and the anchors or plates that keep tension from pulling the poles over. Photo: John Acklen
Removal of asphalt in a trench across Kirner Road. It was not possible to trench on the east side of Kirner Road due to steep slope and the pond itself, and it was necessary to route the underground lines across Kirner to the west side of the road. Photo: John Acklen
Steel plates over the trench cut through Kirner Road to keep traffic moving. Steel plates allowed minimal disruption to normal traffic on this dead end road. Photo: John Acklen
Trench being excavated from the base of the riser pole across Kirner Road. Photo: John Acklen
Crew assembling conduit for lines. Photo: John Acklen
5 conduits including 3 larger ones for the power conductors and two smaller ones for the electric ground wire and WAVE cable. You can barely make out the 2nd new riser pole on the horizon where the underground line transitions back to the existing overhead. Photo: John Acklen
After pulling the new lines into the conduit, crews worked to attach them to the existing overhead 3 phase on the two new riser poles. This photo depicts the moment crews energized the new underground portion of the system. Photo: John Acklen
After all the conduit was assembled, the trench was backfilled. With a few rains, grass will soon reclaim this area and there will be no visible trace on the surface. Photo: John Acklen
The lines across the west end of Kirner Pond are GONE! Once WAVE places their cable in conduit, the lower line will be removed along with a couple of the old poles. Photo: John Acklen