Work on the Bipole III project will commence shortly here in the Southeast.

Manitoba Hydro spokesperson Bruce Owen says there are a total of 3,068 towers with 334 towers in the Southeast portion of the project. Owen notes of the 334 towers in section S2 (Riel Converter Station to Carman) of the project, 273 (82%) have the foundation work complete and 162 towers (49%) have the tower assembly and installation work complete. The remaining installation of towers in the Southeast should commence shortly, notes Owen.

Overall, he says the project has 1,388 kilometres of conductor line which needs to be strung, less than 5 kilometres of which has been completed in section S2.

"It's one big project divided up into a bunch of little projects," explains Owen. "So, you're not starting at Riel and then stringing all the way up at once to the Gilliam area. It will all depend on how the tower assembly and installation progress continues in the Steinbach area. So, you may see the stringing west of you before you see stringing in the Steinbach area."

Owen says stringing of conductor line is estimated to start in mid to late June and will be installed with the help of a helicopter. He notes the stringing of line follows an outline of steps:
- the helicopter is used to hand the insulator strings off the wings of the tower (as seen in the photo above)
- the helicopter pulls in the "soft line" through pulleys at the end of the insulator strings
- the "soft line" is then used to pull the "hard line" back
- the "hard line" then pulls in the conductor through the towers

He says using a helicopter to string the conductor lines reduces the equipment down to all terrain vehicles that transport crews to the towers, which minimizes impacts to fields and seeded crops. Owen adds the conductors or conductor lines never touch and are never dragged along the ground.

The entire Bipole III project is projected to be in-service by July 2018.

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