PSE&G Spider Helicopter Doing Work in Kinnelon

Kinnelon residents should not be alarmed if they see a helicopter shaped like a spider hovering overhead.

The spider helicopter will be in town over the next few weeks while engineers do work on the PSE&G Susquehanna-Roseland power line.

The New Jersey portion of the 50,000-volt transmission line, which will begin in Berwick, Pa., will go through 45 miles of the state, starting in Warren County and going east through Andover and Jefferson into Montville and then turning south to Roseland.

Only a small portion of the project will affect Kinnelon, Mayor Bob Collins said. Survey work and site preparation are expected to be completed in the area of Split Rock Road. Other work will happen on Miller Road.

"Kinnelon is on the front-end of the project that's going to take approximately 12 months," he said.

Because of the Susquehanna-Roseland project, Collins said paving on Miller Road that was originally scheduled will be postponed until the spring because of heavy machinery that may be needed for construction to travel on the road. The helicopter is being used because it gives engineers easier access to do overhead work.