As part of the Powering Up West: Greater Fort Wayne Reliability project, American Electric Power (AEP) was performing major improvements to existing substations, regional transmission lines and local distribution connections across northeast Indiana to improve power, reliability and long-term sustainability for the Greater Fort Wayne area. Williams Creek Management provided trusted mitigation location, permitting, implementation and long-term success criteria maintenance for all the natural resource impact needs due to the large grid improvement project.
As part of the expanded existing Sorenson substation, the project required placement of fill in existing wetlands. Therefore, mitigation design and construction were required in order to obtain appropriate regulatory permitting. Williams Creek provides regulatory consultation, mitigation design, and construction services to AEP. The mitigation area included approximately two acres of forested wetland and six acres of existing wetland enhancement. The forested wetland included installation of trees and shrubs to establish a forested habitat. The wetland enhancement included installation of additional native shrub and herbaceous species to the existing site, and invasive species treatment.
AEP also constructed two new 765kV transmission lines between the Sorenson substation and an existing 765 kV line located seven miles to the south. Right-of-way needed to be cleared, triggering regulatory permitting, mitigation design, and construction. Williams Creek led regulatory coordination for a proposed mitigation design covering 10 acres of forested and scrub-shrub wetland. Williams Creek identified the mitigation site and provided mitigation design and construction services.
Another part of the project included a rebuild of the existing 138kV that connects the Sorenson and Robison Park substations as a 138/345kV transmission line. Williams Creek led regulatory coordination for a proposed mitigation design covering seven acres of forested wetland. Williams Creek identified the mitigation site and provided mitigation design through grading operations, seeding, and planting before providing construction of the mitigation site.
In addition to providing all long-term success criteria regulatory monitoring and maintenance, it was identified the Robison Park substation needed a culvert replacement to reduce localized flooding, improve site access, and continue downstream flow. Williams Creek provided design-build services to replace this critical infrastructure. This involved the removal of the failing structure and the specialized installation of a seven-foot diameter, 50-foot-long corrugated steel culvert, followed by the creation of a new, stable drive surface on top. This work was a necessary maintenance action to ensure the long-term serviceability and accessibility of the transmission line corridor for future maintenance crews. The Williams Creek Team successfully executed this scope, using a large excavator to safely place the massive culvert and restore proper hydrology. This project acts as an extension of our initial mitigation work in the area, demonstrating a continued partnership with the client for the long-term maintenance and success of the corridor.
