Eversource Installed Three-Phase Power Cables to the New School

Dateline: Nov. 8, 2022

During mid-October, Eversource installed the Hendrix Covered Cable System on the new 45-foot utility poles along River Rd. The cables were run from Fiddler's Farm near Granite St. to the new school site near Dodge Rd. This cable system will carry three-phase power.

Dan, an Eversource supervisor, explained that the crews installed the new power cables in several steps. They used the parking lot at Volunteers Park as a staging area.

Pulleys were hung from the messenger wire with several pulleys hung between each set of poles. This heavy duty wire is rated for a 10,000 pound load so it should be able to withstand the impact of a large falling tree limb.

Insulated cables were pulled through the pulleys from one end of the run to the other. The cables were secured at each pole. This photo shows the transition between the old crossbar type design to the new, more compact cable clamp design.

One by one, each pulley was replaced by a heavy duty cable clamp, and the pulley then removed. Several cable clamps were installed on the messenger wire between poles. These cable clamps are rated at 150KV (kilovolts) and allow the insulated power cables to be placed closer together than the old style bare cables mounted on wooden crossbars. A bar was installed at each pole to keep the cable array from swaying in the wind.

The work started at the new school site and progressed to the transition pole just west of Volunteers Park.

You may notice that the cable clamps seem to have a slight resemblance to a prehistoric bird. What do you think?

After installing all the cable brackets and bars, Eversource workers used their bucket trucks to connect the new insulated cables to the existing three-phase power lines. This transition occurred near Fiddler's Farm and Granite St.

Gordon Bristol, the Owner's Project Manager, reported that the estimated cost of $375,000 for the poles, power cables, and transformers "was an expected and budgeted cost."

What You Can Do

Keep checking Allenstown-alt.org for reports like this on the New School. You should also check the New School web site for weekly progress reports from Gordon Bristol. (See the Related Sites column.)