After more than a year of technical review and community engagement, PSE has selected a route for the Murden Cove – Winslow “missing link” transmission line on Bainbridge Island. This is an important step towards improving electric reliability for the two-thirds of the island currently at risk of power outages due to lack of transmission system redundancy. PSE worked diligently to understand which route option meets the technical project needs while using community feedback to inform the decision.
After months of evaluating five route options to connect the Murden Cove and Winslow substations, PSE held a community presentation on Tuesday, November 30 to announce Route A as the selected route. Route A is 3.4 miles and follows Sportsman Club Road, High School Road, and Fletcher Bay Road. PSE staff members Andy Wappler (Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer), Andy Swayne (Municipal Liaison Manager), and Karen Brubeck (Senior Community Engagement Representative) shared the selected route’s benefits with over 100 attendees from across the community.
Route A was selected because it has the most opportunity to incorporate the values of the community while meeting the project’s technical needs and has the following characteristics:
- Is the shortest route
- Includes the fewest parcels, including residential parcels
- Follows public road rights-of-way for the entire length
- Contains land uses and zoning that represent less density
- Has a comparatively lower area of tree canopy Has existing overhead distribution lines along its entire length
Now that we have selected a selected route, PSE will focus on environmental field review, engineering design, and permit application preparation.
To learn more about this project and next steps, visit psebainbridge.participate.online!