PSE&G Upgrading Transmission Lines in Cherry Hill

More than a mile of new underground electric transmission lines are going in on the west side of Cherry Hill, as part of an infrastructure upgrade plan in Camden County that will stretch through 2015, utility officials announced.

Part of the regional transmission grid, three new underground lines—16 miles worth—being built as part of the project will connect switching stations in Gloucester City, Cherry Hill and Pennsauken, and should help improve reliability and decrease congestion in Camden County, as well as provide an alternate route for energy transmission in case of problems elsewhere on the grid, officials said.

The initial phase of the project includes work in Pennsauken and Merchantville along with the Cherry Hill leg of the line, with work locally centered around Cuthbert Boulevard and North Park Drive, with some work extending on to Donahue Avenue, Wisteria Avenue and Hampton Road. Crews are on extended work hours during the week, and there could be overnight and weekend construction as part of the project, officials said.

Expansion work at the Hampton Road substation in Cherry Hill is part of the overall upgrade, as well, officials said.

Road closures aren’t planned as part of the line upgrade, officials said, though there may be intermittent lane closures or detours when construction intersects with the affected roadways.

Electric service also shouldn’t be affected at all by the process.

The upgrade project will roll out to other communities over the course of the next year, officials said, eventually stretching into Collingswood, Camden, Woodlynne, Haddon Township, Oaklyn, Audubon Park, Audubon, Mount Ephraim and Gloucester City.

The upgrade should be complete by May 2015, officials said.