First stage of power line undergrounding complete

October 13th, 2015
[by David Armstrong]

Have you noticed how open and clear the view is of late when driving along High Street between the roundabout and the clock tower?

It's already hard to remember how messy it looked before all the power lines were relocated underground and the power poles replaced by slim aluminium lighting towers setback away from the road.

But look at the photo below of High Street taken just a kilometre north from here.

Network Tasman has completed the undergrounding of all lines along this stretch of road, leaving only the narrower section between the clock tower and Whakarewa Street. This is expected to be completed in a future work programme.

The Motueka Community Board played a big part in convincing TDC to financially support the project, through strong advocacy and by helping negotiate a better price for the work.

Some may say that it would have been better to have underground the lines on the narrower section first, as that is where the existing poles are dangerous in their position right beside the gutter.

However, it was necessary to upgrade and underground the cables from the roundabout first so that they would be able to carry the electrical load for the rest of High Street.

While they were at it, Network Tasman also laid and strung fibre optic cabling, in anticipation of the day when high speed internet is provided to the town.

This development has been awaited for considerable time, but now it is done we can look forward to the completion of undergrounding all the way to the central business area.

Comment by Matt Beech:
[Posted 21 October 2015]

What a nice clear horizon!

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