Planning Board Hears Plans for Eversource Pole Upgrade

By Paul Conyers

At the July 6 meeting, the Londonderry Planning Board met to discuss a wetland use permit for Eversource Energy and their in-progress project to realign electric poles.
Planning Board Chairman, Arthur Rugg, announced the completion of Eversource’s initial application.
At the public hearing, Chris Wilks spoke to support the realignment proposal. The project is in direct response to work by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
“The location we’re talking about is in between Madden Road and Trolley Car Lane, directly east and west of I-93” Wilks stated. “It’s going to involve the installation of seven new weathered steel pole structures, replacement of three existing single wood poles with weathered steel, replacement one single wood pole with a new wood pole, and the removal of ten single wood poles”
He further stated that “the new section of the right of way is going to be bumped to the north of the existing structures” Tree clearing will also be required as part of the project.
Eversource is working with the original Department of Transportation plan to avoid heavy impact on local wetlands.
Wilks promised that no major disruptions or road building are expected beyond what is needed for pole replacement.
The Board voted to approve the conditional use permit for Eversource to continue its project.
Board member, Ann Chiampa, had some questions about the new alignment for Eversource’s project and asked if an underground alignment on part of the project near Trolley Car Lane is a possibility.
“At this time, we are not considering underground modifications for the engineering design” according to Ashley Friend of Eversource. “This project has been in the making for ten years, and we are pretty set on the design at this point for overhead distribution lines.” The cost was cited as a concern when running the electrical line underground with the possibility that any future breaks would require digging up a road.
Friend also warned that the Department of Transportation would need to vet any modifications to the project when trying to bury part of the line underground.
The Planning Board is prepared to welcome the new Town Planner, Kellie Walsh, who is starting on July 25. Walsh worked as a Town Planner for the town of Epping and is a graduate of Londonderry High School.
Rugg received a request for the “construction of a 7,200 warehouse and wholesale building” at 23 Enterprise Drive. The Planning Board voted to hold a hearing for the request for the warehouse permit at their July 13 meeting at 7 p.m., where members of the public will have the opportunity to voice support or opposition to the project.
Another public hearing scheduled that evening for the subdivision of lot 106 Wiley Hill Road into three structures was rescheduled for the Aug. 10 meeting at 7 p.m. The public may attend if they wish to voice an opinion on the Wiley Hill lot.