Linn and Johnson County residents raise concerns over 40-mile transmission line project

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Linn and Johnson County residents questioned what a new 40-mile transmission line project might mean.

ITC held two procedural meetings with the Iowa Utilities Commission, during which they addressed many of those questions. The project would extend from the Southwest part of Cedar Rapids to about Hills in Johnson County.

“Why have you decided to use the farm fields instead of the roads,” said one landowner.

“So, it would be two completely separate entities and two completely separate easements,” said another.

People at the meeting received letters saying a planned 40-mile transmission line could impact their properties.

“Ay sort of humming or things like that,” said Butch Wieneke of Ely.

Wieneke said he was worried about the noise the lines might make when they’re in use and how close someone can live to the powerlines.

“My son wanted to build fairly close to that line and now I hear there is some higher DB,” said Wieneke.

ITC spokespeople did say the DBs were about double that of the current lines, but they said people shouldn’t hear a difference. Communications Manager Rod Pritchard said this project was needed because of the growth around the 380 corridor.

“Not only does it help us here in the Cedar Rapid area but also in Johnson County,” he said. “This continues to be a fast-growing area of the state with more demand for electricity projected in the future.”

Pritchard points to large development projects such as the two proposed data centers.

“This is really more about the projected growth in the future,” said Pritchard.

The project isn’t expected to get underway until 2026 with an estimated completion date of 2027, but Wieneke worried what this construction on his property.

“It seems like they are trying to be fair about what they are trying to pay, but any time anything goes through and they start packing that down {dirt} with big equipment in there, it never gets back to original,” said Wieneke.