HUNTSVILLE – The Tennessee Valley Authority has identified preferred locations for a new switching station and transmission line that would prepare for growth and increase power reliability in the Athens and Huntsville areas in Limestone and Madison Counties.
TVA will build the Harding Spring Switching Station on E. Limestone Road in Athens, north of the intersection of Nick Davis Road and E. Limestone Road. TVA will build a 161-kilovolt transmission line from the proposed switching station to the Gladstone Switching Station currently underway in Huntsville. The new line would be 14 miles and built using primarily single- and double-pole, steel structures on existing and new right of way. The preferred switching station site and line route were selected from several alternatives proposed at a virtual open house held from June 9 through July 11, 2022.
The selected route is expected to have the least impact on the area, based on public input from the virtual open house and additional evaluation of other factors, including social, environmental, and engineering impacts. A National Environmental Policy Act review is also pending.
The project will utilize the existing and new right of way. TVA will meet with property owners along the proposed right of way to obtain easements for the construction, operation, and maintenance of the line. Property owners would still own the property and be compensated for the easements at fair market value.
TVA is expected to begin surveys in fall 2022 and start acquiring easements in winter 2023-2024. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2024 and be completed in summer 2025. A map of the project and additional information are available on the TVA website at tva.com/transmissionprojects.
TVA is investing over $2 billion in transmission system improvements across the service area between 2021 and 2025 to build the energy grid of the future that will continue to provide, clean, low-cost, reliable power.
Media Release/TVA Newsroom
