TEAM FISHEL BEGINS OVERHEAD-TO-UNDERGROUND PROJECT FOR AEP IN CENTRAL OHIO

When American Electric Power needed to upgrade their 138 KV transmission cable in central Ohio, they looked to Team Fishel to make it happen.

After the exceptional trenching work that Team Fishel performed last year across the Scioto River, AEP Project Manager Don Kendall wanted Team Fishel to install this project as well. But due to the cost of construction AEP had to competitively bid this work out.

Teammates from Team Fishel's Ohio division worked with AEP for over a year on route design, preliminary budgeting, engineering and consulting before the project was put out for bid. Kendall made a decision to bid the job out as two separate contracts.

The first phase consists of placing four 6-inch and two 3-inch conduits. The second phase consists of cable pulling and splicing. Kendall had only four contractors including Team Fishel bid the construction of the duct bank, while 12 contractors competed for the cable pulling and splicing.

In May, Team Fishel was awarded the $2.2 million conduit relocation phase. The project startup was temporarily delayed while biologists surveyed the area for Indiana Myotis bats, a protected species commonly found in Ohio. Nets were set up at the sites where Team Fishel would be trenching to catch bats at night. Fortunately, no Indiana bats were found and Team Fishel was cleared to build through those sections.

The 3-mile project officially began in June with a pre-construction meeting between AEP, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the Ohio Power Siting Board, which has jurisdiction over any transmission project over one mile. Team Fishel assigned veteran Supervisor John Blair to the project, along with Lionel Blair as Foreman over the trenching and placing. Over the years, John's expertise has contributed to other successful AEP projects including the Scioto River crossing in downtown Columbus last year. A second crew headed up by David McDaniel was assigned to the project in July.

"The aerial lines will be buried and the existing poles will be removed as part of the city of Dublin's neighborhood beautification project," said Tim Griffin, Area Manager of the Ohio Division. The conduits will be encased in concrete and buried to a depth of six to eight feet beginning at the Davidson Substation in Hilliard and continuing to the Emerald Substation located in Dublin. There are six 8 x 22 x 7 foot manholes to be placed throughout the project. When all of the conduits are placed, the cable pulling and splicing will begin.

Once excavation in an area begins, the trench must be closed and restored within seven days to minimize disruption to the area. This requirement is part of the Storm Water Management Plan that AEP has provided, and for aesthetic purposes. Griffin said that Team Fishel's greatest difficulties so far have come from the weather.

"Rain and muddy conditions have been our greatest challenge," he said. "We are pretty far off the road so getting trucks and equipment on site has been difficult at times."

In remote areas, Teammates created access roads and actually set up bridges over streams and creeks for the equipment to travel across. One such access point had to be designed and approved by the U.S. Army Core of Engineers.

The construction route includes fields, woods, and trenching alongside commercial buildings with trackhoes and backhoes. Along with conventional trenching methods there is a total of about 3,000 feet of directional boring that will need to be done under large creeks and roads. One bore measures over 900 feet in length.

The conduit itself is a PVC type conduit that Team Fishel is trenching and transitioning to HDPE using a directional bore operation. All HDPE is in 40-foot sticks and will be fused together. Once the installation is complete Team Fishel will do a final proofing of all the duct and turn the new system over to AEP for their 138 KV cables to be installed and spliced.