Kendall Yards: Power lines grounded

Notice something missing from the above photo?  All seems quiet on the Kendall Yards front - too quiet.  When we happened by the site yesterday something was amiss.  What?  Where?  How?   Now just when in the hell did they do that? 

In a rather unceremonious manner a pretty significant milestone has been achieved on the site as the main Avista trunk line is no longer suspended across Monroe Street.  We're going to assume they've finally buried them with the only reminder being the freakishly large power poles that now more closely resemble a limbed ponderosa.

• Dirt begins moving on Monday [metrospokane]
• Controlled explosion goodness [metrospokane]

Comments

[Leio]

Now if only we could come up with a plan to start laying power lines and fiber optics under the ground. Maybe on a piece meal basis every time the city digs up a street ?

[Brian A. Sayrs]

There's some undergrounding going on in Liberty Lake, too. There is a Walgreen's moving in and, apparently, their aesthetic standards require that the overhead lines be buried. Avista, Walgreen's and the City of Liberty Lake are each paying a portion of the cost.

The issue for governments is that under state law if undergrounding is required by the public, the public must pay the cost of it. It's considered an aesthetic issue, not a public safety issue, even though Ice Storm taught us the truth of it.

For low voltage lines, public agencies can require undergrounding for new facilities, but not for existing ones.

So, if piecemeal undergrounding is adopted, be aware that it will take public will to get it done because it will require greater resources, or fewer repaired roads. I suggest you let your elected officials and neighbors know how important it is.

[Jim]

Any word on when build out will begin? Someone posted that one of the investors had baled, but Chesrown suggested that things were still moving forward. I can't believe that this preliminary work would have been completed without plans to start work soon. That whole area has been such an eyesore since the days that it was home to Spokane's Produce Row. Those businesses were great home owned job producers, but the terminal always blocked views of the gorge. Now we just have a lunarscape that is uninspiring to say the least.

[Kate]

Walgreens has aesthetic standards?

The mind boggles.

Me, I'm just vaguely nostalgic for the old LL Zip Trip. Sigh. It was one of the only vaguely old things a Liberty Lake native could *have* nostalgic memories for!

[Silent Bahb]

I'm curious too, Jim. Last I heard they hadn't recieved (or sought) their final entitlements from the City - but that was a while ago. I would hate to have to look at this barren spot for a number of years while we wait for the economy to turn around.