PSEG to begin removing more giant steel poles on Eastport roadway
A motorist died after the SUV he was driving hit one of the steel utility poles in Eastport on Dec. 11, 2017. Area residents have said the PSEG poles are set too close to the road. Credit: Stringer News
PSEG Long Island on Friday will begin work to remove another section of giant steel high-voltage poles in Eastport, this time on a stretch of roadway that has seen at least two pole-related fatalities.
The utility plans to remove five steel poles around a section of County Road 51 that intersects with County Road 111, and replace them with underground lines, according to the company. Two other steel poles will be replaced with shorter "riser" poles that transition the line from overhead to underground. The work includes placement of four new wooden distribution poles on the shoulder of the highway.
A PSEG spokeswoman confirmed the work, saying the company "is committed to the safety of our customers and employees."
Newsday first reported on the plan to remove these poles two years ago, saying the cost to put them underground would be $7.1 million. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said the cost remained the same but didn't disclose why it took two years to start the work.
One of the largest steel poles set for replacement is one that bears a large dent from where a car driven by Matthew Hillebrand, 47, of Babylon, crashed into it on Dec. 11, 2017, causing the car to burst into flames, Newsday reported. Hillebrand later died of his injuries. A second fatality occurred in 2020 when a couple driving on a northern stretch of County Road 51 struck a steel pole on Nov. 8, 2020, killing a passenger and severely injuring the driver. Steel poles, most just a few feet from the 55 mph roadway, remain on that section of road.
The poles, some more than 90 feet tall and 9 feet around and set in concrete foundations, were the subject of protests by hundreds of residents and a 2017 lawsuit by Brookhaven and Southampton towns, which alleged LIPA and PSEG didn’t go through the proper reviews before installing them. Residents have complained the poles are unsightly and a road hazard.
Last week, Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said he was "pleased this work is being done" to remove poles that present "a dangerous sight obstruction." The poles "should never have been installed" in the first place, he added.
In 2020, PSEG removed 31 of the steel poles in the business district of Eastport, as part of a settlement with Brookhaven Town. Putting that high-voltage line underground for the roughly 1-mile stretch cost $11.8 million.
The entire steel pole project originally cost $31.7 million, Newsday reported at the time, and was intended to storm-harden high-voltage transmission lines then on smaller wooden poles. PSEG at the time rejected the notion of burying the lines, saying it would cost $6 million to $9 million per mile, or upward of $60 million.
The Long Island Power Authority, which owns the system and hired PSEG to manage it, in November changed its policy and now mandates that all new high-voltage lines like the Eastport project, with 69,000-volt capacity or above, be considered for placing underground first.
Despite investigating the Eastport steel pole placement in 2021 following the two fatalities, PSEG has indicated no plan to remove any more of the nearly 200 poles that remain on a five-mile stretch of County Road 51, from Eastport to Riverhead. Many are only a few feet from the high-speed highway with no guardrails to protect them.
PSEG Long Island on Friday will begin work to remove another section of giant steel high-voltage poles in Eastport, this time on a stretch of roadway that has seen at least two pole-related fatalities.
The utility plans to remove five steel poles around a section of County Road 51 that intersects with County Road 111, and replace them with underground lines, according to the company. Two other steel poles will be replaced with shorter "riser" poles that transition the line from overhead to underground. The work includes placement of four new wooden distribution poles on the shoulder of the highway.
A PSEG spokeswoman confirmed the work, saying the company "is committed to the safety of our customers and employees."
Newsday first reported on the plan to remove these poles two years ago, saying the cost to put them underground would be $7.1 million. Spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said the cost remained the same but didn't disclose why it took two years to start the work.
One of the largest steel poles set for replacement is one that bears a large dent from where a car driven by Matthew Hillebrand, 47, of Babylon, crashed into it on Dec. 11, 2017, causing the car to burst into flames, Newsday reported. Hillebrand later died of his injuries. A second fatality occurred in 2020 when a couple driving on a northern stretch of County Road 51 struck a steel pole on Nov. 8, 2020, killing a passenger and severely injuring the driver. Steel poles, most just a few feet from the 55 mph roadway, remain on that section of road.
The poles, some more than 90 feet tall and 9 feet around and set in concrete foundations, were the subject of protests by hundreds of residents and a 2017 lawsuit by Brookhaven and Southampton towns, which alleged LIPA and PSEG didn’t go through the proper reviews before installing them. Residents have complained the poles are unsightly and a road hazard.
Last week, Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said he was "pleased this work is being done" to remove poles that present "a dangerous sight obstruction." The poles "should never have been installed" in the first place, he added.
In 2020, PSEG removed 31 of the steel poles in the business district of Eastport, as part of a settlement with Brookhaven Town. Putting that high-voltage line underground for the roughly 1-mile stretch cost $11.8 million.
The entire steel pole project originally cost $31.7 million, Newsday reported at the time, and was intended to storm-harden high-voltage transmission lines then on smaller wooden poles. PSEG at the time rejected the notion of burying the lines, saying it would cost $6 million to $9 million per mile, or upward of $60 million.
The Long Island Power Authority, which owns the system and hired PSEG to manage it, in November changed its policy and now mandates that all new high-voltage lines like the Eastport project, with 69,000-volt capacity or above, be considered for placing underground first.
Despite investigating the Eastport steel pole placement in 2021 following the two fatalities, PSEG has indicated no plan to remove any more of the nearly 200 poles that remain on a five-mile stretch of County Road 51, from Eastport to Riverhead. Many are only a few feet from the high-speed highway with no guardrails to protect them.
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
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