Hart EMC Stops Traffic on I-85 Tuesday Morning

Traffic on I-85 came to a standstill in both directions in Franklin County for a time Tuesday morning and it had nothing to do with the high-speed chase or an accident.

Hart EMC crews have been working for several weeks along Gumlog Road making upgrades to the power lines. Tuesday morning, that work took them to power lines that span the Interstate.

Hart EMC spokesman Keith Brown said the Georgia DOT required having traffic stopped or slowed  between Exits 173 and 177 for a time.

 “We have to submit a ‘Request to Cross’ and they tell us the pacing requirements for the Interstate. We then hire an outside crew to pace the Interstate traffic because of the stiff new requirements by the GDOT.”

Power crews stood in a line on the bridge overlooking I-85 and fed the line across to another lineman who was high above the freeway in a bucket attaching it to a new power pole.

Brown said the upgrades to the power lines are part of an overall upgrade to the system to help prevent outages at Ty Cobb Regional Medical Center.

But he said the new power lines will also help prevent outages for residences and businesses in the Gumlog Community .

 “You think back to that microburst that happened around March and then there was another issue where there was a piece of equipment that failed catastrophically a last winter,” he said. “Since then, we have identified a piece of line we could improve. So, if we have that type of failure again this will enable us to get back power on quicker.”

The work along Gumlog Road is near a power substation.

During the winter of 2012, the substation blew a transformer during an ice storm, shutting down power to homes and businesses in the area for hours.

“Whether it’s storms or equipment failure, we’re just trying to recognize areas where we can improve service,” he said.

Brown said the work along Gumlog Road will continue for the next several days.