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Corridor Development and Selection
The area being studied extends north-south from the Canada-USA border to approximately 10 km north of the Pasqua Switching Station, and east-west from Assiniboia to approximately 10 km east of Ogema.
Corridor study began by assembling satellite imagery and 3-D air photos, together with environmental, infrastructure, terrain, topographic, land cover (vegetation) and land use overlays.
A number of possible corridors, approximately 1.5 to 3 km wide, were identified using corridor selection criteria that capitalizes on opportunities to mitigate potential agricultural, environmental, economic, land use and other impacts. Alternative corridors were compared and those with the best characteristics were selected for further study. Defined corridors were then field checked from roads and aircraft, including acquisition of video from a helicopter fly over.
Following the introduction of three corridor options for the transmission line – west, central and east – in June 2007, the west corridor was selected as the preferred option in February 2008. The evaluation process that led to the preferred route examined the agricultural, environmental, economic and social impacts of the proposed line, as well as comments and concerns from landowners, local municipal councils and members of the public.
During the public consultation process, the need to minimize the impact on agriculture lands was a recurring theme. The selection of the west corridor significantly reduces the impact on agriculture and lands in cultivation.
West corridor features:
Bypasses Willow Bunch Lake to the west
Avoids future coal reserves
Longest net uncultivated length
Shortest net cultivated length
Double circuit length of ~31 km
Corridor Development
