A first-of-its-kind underground transmission line completed in Chino and Chino Hills, Calif., the Mira Loma-Vincent 500kV Underground Transmission Project has broken new ground in engineering and construction while allowing a major utility to meet its goals for renewable generation and transmission.
Working closely with Southern California Edison (SCE), Burns & McDonnell served as Owner's Engineer for routing a 3.7-mile, 500kV underground transmission line through densely populated neighborhoods in Chino and Chino Hills. The project was one of the world's first 500kV transmission lines ever installed underground and is the final link in SCE's effort to deliver electricity from new wind farms in Central California to the Los Angeles Basin.
"The successful completion of this project has allowed us to continue delivering safe, reliable, renewable energy to our customer base of more than 15 million," says Roman Vazquez, senior project manager at SCE. "Burns & McDonnell delivered a cost-effective solution, on time and under budget we couldn't be happier with the results and their overall support."
The project won an Honor Award in the American Council of Engineering Companies of California's (ACEC California) Engineering Excellence Awards competition. The high-profile award contest recognizes the best engineering and construction projects in California in a number of different categories. The project was also honored with an ACEC National Recognition Award.
"We're proud our work with Southern California Edison is being recognized among some of the most innovative and creative engineering solutions in our industry," says Travis McKinney, Burns & McDonnell Construction/Design-Build department manager in Southern California. "Our focus is always on making our clients successful and producing sustainable solutions to support our communities. Facing many unique regulatory, civic, design and construction challenges, our team was able to come up with a first-of-its-kind solution so our client could expand renewable energy and enhance regional power grid reliability."
The 500kV underground transmission project crossed two major thoroughfares, several minor roadways, a shopping center, two flood-control channels and two holes of a golf course. One-third of the alignment was on a 15 percent average grade, with slopes as steep as 35 percent in some locations. In all, the project involved the installation of approximately 17,000 linear feet of duct bank and numerous horizontal drills ranging from 800 to 2,100 feet in length.
Successful completion of the Mira Loma-Vincent 500kV Underground Transmission Project has allowed SCE to continue delivering on its commitment to providing renewable energy to customers. By breaking new ground to meet the installation requirements mandated by the CPUC, SCE has also laid the groundwork for future installations of extra high voltage transmission lines within underground duct systems.
About ACEC California's Engineering Excellence Awards
ACEC California's annual Engineering Excellence Awards competition recognizes outstanding achievements in engineering and land surveying projects completed by California firms. In 2017, 18 Honor Awards were granted to 12 firms, with an additional 20 Merit Awards granted to 11 firms. Honor Award winning projects will be recognized with photographic panels on display at the Capitol, outside of the Governor's office, in early 2017. Honor Award winners are eligible to enter ACEC's national level Engineering Excellence Awards competition, in Washington, D.C. The full list of Honor and Merit Award winning projects can be found at www.EngineeringCA.com.
About Burns & McDonnell
Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies made up of more than 5,700 engineers, architects, construction professionals, scientists, consultants and entrepreneurs with offices across the country and throughout the world. We strive to create amazing success for our clients and amazing careers for our employee-owners. Burns & McDonnell is 100 percent employee-owned and is proud to be No. 16 on Fortune's 2016 list of 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information, visit burnsmcd.com.
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Contact:
Elle Jenkins, Burns & McDonnell
816-822-3147
ejjenkins@burnsmcd.com
