There will be a quite spectacle in the skies west of Steinbach starting in late February. Manitoba Hydro will be starting to install the large towers for the Bipole III transmission line. And Public Affairs Manager Scott Powell says one of the main means of installation in our area will be by a huge helicopter.
"We have been testing and will be using a large Erickson Aircrane which is a large, very powerful, helicopter that will lift the towers out of the assembly yards, fly them to the location and lower them down into place. Our ground crews will bolt them to the ground and get the guy wires in if they're single point towers, and, once they get them bolted in that helicopter lets go, heads back and picks up the next one and it really can speed up your process."
"For a lot of people in agriculture, it (the helicopter) greatly reduces the footprint on the ground by minimizing the size and the amount of construction equipment we need to have in an area to get those towers installed."
Powell says we shouldn't be surprised to see people stopping and gathering to watch when the sky crane is at work.
"They're actually quite an incredible machine. They were originally designed and built by Sikorski and Erickson acquired the rights to build these units. They are loud but it is really something to watch. I know the contractors have told us, when they're using these things, a crowd will always gather to watch these machines in action because it is quite something to see a helicopter carrying a 100-150 foot-tall tower. Its' really quite something to look at."
Some of the towers will also be installed by traditional cranes.
Powell says the Bipole III project is to be completed by July of next year. He notes there will be 3,025 towers over the entire length of the transmission line from northern Manitoba and 12% of them have already been erected.
Wed, Apr 17, 4:00 PM
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