Motorists should expect Highway 70 delays due to PG&E project
Pacific Gas and Electric Company started work Wednesday, Sept. 6 to underground power lines along Highway 70 between Storrie and Belden in Plumas County.
According to a statement from PG&E, contractor MGE will underground about 14 miles of power lines along the highway. Crews will work until winter weather, then resume work in 2024.
When completed, about 60 miles of power lines will be undergrounded in Plumas County.
One-way traffic controls will occur as crews trench and install conduit for underground lines.
Motorists are advised to allow for more time when traveling this route and can expect delays of up to 15 minutes between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and delays of up to 45 minutes between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays and 24 hours a day on weekends, except for holiday weekends.
The work is part of PG&E’s Community Wildfire Safety Program and is in response to California’s growing wildfire risk.
PG&E is building and expanding its electric system underground to not only help reduce wildfires caused by equipment, but also to reduce the need for wildfire safety-related power outages. Undergrounding will also help protect trees, improve system reliability and beautify communities.
PG&E has already completed 2.8 miles of undergrounding along Highway 89 from Canyon Dam south and is undergrounding power lines along Highway 70 east of the Plumas-Butte county line and along Highway 89 between Indian Falls and Moccasin.
For more information about road impacts, call PG&E’s Customer Rebuild Line at (800) 254-5810.
About PG&E
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. For more information, visit pge.com and pge.com/news.
