The Cardinal – Hickory Creek Transmission line project included approximately 100 miles of 345-kilovolt transmission line designed to electrically connect the Dubuque County, IA region to the Dane County, WI region. ITC Holdings needed full land surveying services for their 30-mile portion in Wisconsin, from the Mississippi River to a new substation near Montfort, WI.

Careful planning was required to provide access to all line segments. The terrain in the Mississippi River Valley and surrounding area proved challenging to navigate, particularly with the heavy machinery necessary to construct the line. Access to the proposed 150-foot-wide transmission line easement could not be provided easily from public roadways nor was it possible to travel lineally inside the dedicated easement due to terrain.

Bolton & Menk embarked on the largest coordinated survey effort in company history, with eight survey crews deployed over four weeks. Crews staked the limits of the entire 30-mile transmission line easement along with hundreds of access easements. Stakes were placed at 100-foot intervals (on both sides) for the entire project length to ensure all construction activities remained inside dedicated right-of-way. Our ability to pull from a pool of survey crews helped maintain staffing levels while maintaining a local firm feel.