A significant upgrade to NW Tasmania’s power grid.
The Palmerston - Hadspen - George Town optical ground wire installation project involved upgrading 85 kilometres of existing 220kV transmission line infrastructure between Palmerston and George Town in Tasmania.
The project extended over 100 road crossings, eight major highway crossings, four rail line crossings and eight river crossings, including the Tamar River alongside the Batman Bridge. Works were also carried out over the Cataract Gorge, Batman Bridge and through the Trevallyn Nature Reserve.
The project scope included tower strengthening (installation of new steel), assembly and helicopter installation of new earth peaks and stringing new Optical Ground Wire (OPGW). The 85- kilometre line included 243 tower structures and three substations. Most works were conducted under live conditions with only a select few stringing pulls conducted under outage conditions.
- Customer
Transend Networks Pty Ltd - Location
Launceston, Tasmania - Specialisation
Transmission lines & substations - Start
September 2012 - End
March 2014
The project was completed three months ahead of schedule, despite several engineering, extreme wet weather and project management challenges.
Our team developed of a number of innovations, including a bespoke tower foundation upgrade solution and a new method of stringing towers. The first innovation “overlay type” tower foundation provided a much more aesthetic solution than traditional concrete structures and was more appealing to landowners.
The new method for stringing towers allowed the high voltage power rope to be pulled through the centre of the tower, reducing the need of double handling, resulting in a safer and more efficient end-product. This initiative resulted in significant immediate cost reductions and has been adopted for future use on transmission lines throughout Tasmania.
