HURRICANE, W.Va. — Those in Putnam County who fought to steer Appalachian Power Company’s plans for new transmission lines away from the beloved Meeks Mountain Trails can now take a breath.
Appalachian Power has announced that there are new route options for their Bancroft-Milton Transmission Line Rebuild Project, which will see around 20 miles of new lines be rebuilt in Putnam County.
In 2024, the company held multiple open houses in Putnam County where they received extensive feedback from customers that used and loved the Meeks Mountain Trails in Hurricane, which attracts runners, mountain bikers, and many other residents.
Appalachian Power now says those route options are no longer on the table, and they want residents to come back to another series of open houses this week to view the new plans.
Appalachian Power spokesperson Amanda DeHaven says that the company listened to all of the feedback the first time around and realized changes needed to be made.
“We worked with the community. We worked with local officials in Putnam and Cabell Counties to get feedback from them. We worked with the Meeks Mountain Trail Association listening to their feedback, and we took all the information we received from the landowners at the open house and those that called us and emailed us,” DeHaven said.
“We took all of that and put all of those comments on a map and went through the route options that we had and tried to engineer solutions that would minimize impacts to landowners in the area,” she continued.
Over 600 submitted comments came from passionate residents and users of the Meeks Mountain Trails back in late 2024, and DeHaven says the company understands why Putnam County rallied around the trails.
“We understand where they’re coming from. I think if I lived in that area and used the trails, I would feel the same way,” DeHaven said. “We do have employees that live in that community, use the trails, and do business in that community and live and work in that area. We do have employees there that understand.”
“This area was just too important to the community, and we couldn’t do that. We couldn’t cross over those trails,” she continued.
Now that the company has moved on from the original route plans, residents have a few new options to consider.
“Between the Teays Valley area and the Milton area, we have several route options that are available to look at,” DeHaven said. “We aren’t building all of the route options, we are just building some of the options, so we’ll choose after this open house.”
Many of the comments Appalachian Power had to sift through in 2024 came from supporters and users of trails, and DeHaven wants to see them come out and give their feedback again this time around.
“We are still interested in everyone’s feedback that lives in the community. This project is 20 miles long, and they’re going to be impacted by construction more than likely or seeing a lot of action going on in their community in the next few years when the construction starts,” DeHaven said. “I think it’s important to learn about your community, find out what’s happening and see what’s impacting yourself or your neighbors, and giving us feedback so we can make informed decisions.”
Appalachian Power will hold two open houses on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Valley Park Conference Center in Hurricane from 4:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. Residents can stop by and get information or submit a comment any time during the meetings, as there is no formal presentation.
Residents that cannot attend the meetings can view the plans at aeptransmission.com/westvirginia/Bancroft-Milton