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SRPL construction realities could
pose bigger problems for Alpine
By Susan Hogoboom
The Alpine Sun
ALPINE — If a recent town hall meeting
at the Alpine Community Center was any indication, the majority
of Alpine residents are against the proposed Sunrise Powerlink (SRPL)
project along Alpine Boulevard, most citing a great disruption
to the daily activities to residents and business, while others
raised health concerns.
But the concerns and possible effects do not end there.
The challenges of simply constructing what would be California’s
largest energy project ever in this region have been overlooked
by many.
The proposed SRPL project may pose a variety of construction
challenges due to geological composition and structure and the
man-made underground configuration.
The difficulties that arose during the construction at
the Alpine Albertsons site, when work was delayed extensively
due to unexpected rocks found on the site, may provide a glimpse
of likely scenarios that SRPL construction crews could encounter
during its undergrounding process. In fact, the penetration of
the rock was so challenging at the Albertsons site, that the
project was not completed until approximately one year after the
projected completion date.
At the town hall meeting on Jan. 14, local contractor
Mark Turvey, brought attention to the matter, comparing the
Albertsons project to the highly controversial proposed project.
“I personally did all the groundbreaking,” he said.
“They didn’t think they had any [rock] when they started.”
Turvey said that this rock is very common in the Alpine
area. He mentioned the freeway cuts in the Victoria area,
saying, “It’s rock.”
He pointed to the photos provided by SDG&E depicting
other trenching projects in the county.
“The trenches in Alpine aren’t going to look like that: Nice,
clean, straight.” He said the reality of trenches along Alpine
Boulevard will be big, jagged, uneven holes, as workers run into
large rocks and boulders beneath the surface.
“You’re not going to be able to dynamite it. It will
have to be perforated with drills and broken out with a hammer.
It will be a very slow process,” he said, at the same time,
questioning whether or not the hammers would even fit inside the
trenches.
Jennifer Briscoe, a spokesperson for Sempra Energy, the
parent company of SDG&E, told The Alpine Sun via e-mail that a
geotechnical report was completed during the engineering phase
of the proposed project and that SDG&E officials are aware of
the type of rock and types of underground utilities underneath
the boulevard. Briscoe said that crews would have the proper
construction equipment capable of penetrating the type of rock
they expect to encounter.
Solid rock would not be the only stumbling block.
Although water services and gas lines along the route can be
moved, sewer and storm drains run on gravity flow. “You’re not
going to be able to move sewer and storm drains,” he said.
He also raised concerns about whether or not residents
would be permitted to hook up to the sewer system. “I would ask,
as a mitigation measure, that any property owner in this
corridor be allowed to hook up to the sewer before the lines
come through, if the lines come through,” he said. He was met
with a round of applause from the audience.
“There are numerous property owners in the corridor
that are not hooked up to the sewer,” he said. It is difficult
to dig under a package of pipes to make a tie in, especially
with the presence of high voltage.
He also predicts a similar problem at Alpine’s future
new high school on the site of the former Lazy A Ranch.
“We’ve got a high school coming that’s going to need a
force main coming from that site from over the hill by
Albertsons to tie to the sewer. There can be an alignment issue
with that,” he warned.
The contractor believes that SRPL pipe placement with
existing lines and other configuration would probably result in
deep excavation, especially since, according to the contractor,
most of the placement would be on top.
Gas lines and existing water mains limit the methods of
excavating a trench. Breakage of lines during excavation
projects is not unusual.
Briscoe said that prior to construction, crews will
communicate with DigAlert, an independent organization that
helps minimize the chances of damage to existing underground
utilities. DigAlert would mark such utilities. Briscoe said that
SDG&E officials have also been in contact with the Padre Dam
Municipal Water District.
Alpine community leaders realize the possible
challenges, and according to Mary Kay Borchard, co-chair of the
Alpine Revitalization Steering Committee’s Community Development
Subcommittee, which opposes the project, the public has begun to
as well.
“There are certainly a lot of challenges that face
Alpine on this matter,” she said. “Regrettably, this southern
route seemed to slip in under the radar as SDG&E kept reassuring
us that the southern route was not their preferred route and
only a fallback position. Only now are the ramifications and
implications of Alpine becoming very clear to Alpine. I remain
hopeful this will make us a stronger, better town and not a
ghost town.”
The next Alpine Sunrise Powerlink Community Council
meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 15 at the Alpine Woman’s
Club at 6 p.m. Members of the public are encouraged to attend to
learn more about the project, ask questions and voice their
concerns.
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