PG&E Repair High-Voltage Power Lines, Highway 101 Reopens

Pacific Gas and Electric Company crews completed temporary repairs to high-voltage electric transmission equipment in Burlingame early Monday morning after a third party doing construction work severely damaged a tower and related electrical equipment last Friday night, closing US Highway 101, according to a statement. These towers carry power to the Peninsula and throughout San Francisco.

The repairs required the closure of a stretch of Highway 101 in Burlingame in San Mateo County, which began at 10 p.m. Sunday.

While the highway reopened, the Broadway Overpass was closed for an emergency repair project until 9:30 a.m.

In the coming weeks, PG&E said the utility will need to do further repairs and replace the temporary poles that were erected to replace the severely damaged tower.

The repairs were necessary after a contractor, Jafec USA, severely damaged a major transmission tower that carried power to the Peninsula and San Francisco on Friday night, bringing high-voltage power lines down onto the freeway, city streets and a pedestrian walkway, PG&E said in a statement.

A crane operated by the contractor buckled the tower, and the resulting strain on the transmission wires caused damage to the two other connected transmission towers, PG&E said. Caltrans provided three 80-foot wooden poles to allow PG&E to quickly construct a temporary replacement for the most seriously damaged tower.

PG&E had electric first responders on site within 10 minutes of the accident, the utility said, and additional resources and crews from across Northern California were dispatched to the scene. Specialized equipment, personnel and vehicles are integral for a repair job of this magnitude on a primary artery of the electric system.

PG&E and first responders, including the California Highway Patrol and local police and fire agencies, worked to make the area safe as quickly as possible, PG&E said. No injuries were reported.
 

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