HURRICANE Ƶ Appalachian Power representatives will present a modified network of route options for the Bancroft-Milton Transmission Line Rebuild Project at two open houses from 4:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, June 24, and Wednesday, June 25, at Valley Park Conference Center in Hurricane.
The feedback from last yearƵs open houses, including more than 680 comments from property owners, influenced the companyƵs decision to eliminate all route options that would have crossed Meeks Mountain Trails, according to Amanda DeHaven, AEP project outreach specialist.
ƵThere was a lot of feedback given to us about the route options we had going over Meeks Mountain Trails, and we decided at that point to take all the route options off Meeks Mountain Trails,Ƶ DeHaven said. ƵItƵs a beautiful resource for the people in the community and surrounding communities, and we decided to try to go some different ways.Ƶ
This is a map, released in May 2025, of the Appalachian Power Bancroft-Milton Transmission Line Rebuild Project. The purple line (upper right) is the proposed transmission line route from Bancroft, Putnam County. The solid blue line (which mostly follows Interstate 64 west through Hurricane and toward Milton, Cabell County) is the current route under consideration.
Courtesy image
The project team rerouted several other options. One option to be introduced would go to the south of Meeks Mountain Trails, though DeHaven said they are not yet in the proposal stage.
ƵWe had to do a lot of engineering and work to get to the place we are now to try to minimize impacts to the community,Ƶ DeHaven said.
Landowners within the area who would potentially be impacted received a packet in the mail with additional project details. The project team plans to use input from the community and additional field work to determine a power line route that reduces impact on the community and environment, according to a news release.
ƵItƵs different for each individual person, but the biggest thing was, of course, us going around Meeks Mountain Trails, and so everyone who lives in that area and has property that the route option is near received a map,Ƶ DeHaven said.
For those unable to attend the open houses, additional information, maps and images are also available online at .
ƵYou can also see the same map pages theyƵve gotten in the mail and just find out a little bit more about the project,Ƶ DeHaven said. ƵItƵs really specific to each individual landowner how itƵs going to impact a property.Ƶ
The purpose of an open house is not only for APCo to communicate information about the project, but to also receive feedback from the community, DeHaven said.
ƵOne of the things that we got last time was the resounding feedback from the community about Meeks Mountain Trails,Ƶ DeHaven said. ƵWe hope to get feedback from the landowners; some landowners we are crossing their property now, and we didnƵt before because we were going around Meeks Mountain Trails. We want to hear from everyone.Ƶ
Landowners are also encouraged to inform APCo about historic or archaeologically significant areas on their property, which will help in the decision making process, DeHaven said.
ƵWhenever we do an open house, we may have people who have land where there is a family burial plot that we donƵt know about or thereƵs a spring or something that has been built that we donƵt know about that we canƵt see from the maps weƵre looking at,Ƶ she said. ƵThose are the kinds of things that we need to know in order to make our decisions.Ƶ
After the open houses, representatives will go through the feedback and comments to make a finalized proposed route. It should be provided to the public this fall, DeHaven said.
APCo representatives will then file an application with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, the regulatory agency overseeing utilities that operate in the state, in early 2026.
ƵWeƵll receive approval from the PSC hopefully in early 2027 so it takes a year to get back information after filing an application, but a proposed route to the public will be available this fall,Ƶ DeHaven said.
If the project is approved, construction is expected to begin summer 2028 and conclude by spring 2031, according to a news release.
DeHaven said she encourages community members and landowners to attend the open houses.
ƵWe want to hear your feedback,Ƶ she said. ƵWe want to learn about your property, and this will help us make any decisions that we need to make when doing a proposed route. ItƵs really important for us to hear from the community. WeƵre going to be there for two nights, and weƵd love to see you out there.Ƶ
The Valley Park Conference Center is located at 1 Valley Park Drive in Hurricane.
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