Media Advisory - Hydro One advises that construction work on electricity transmission line will cause traffic slowdowns on 401 near Milton this weekend

TORONTO, May 6 /CNW/ - Hydro One is advising motorists travelling in the Milton area this weekend that there will be some traffic slowdowns as power lines are installed across Highway 401 near the James Snow Parkway off-ramp in Milton.

Traffic will not be stopped on the 401, just slowed. The OPP will direct motorists during the planned slowdowns and the Ministry of Transportation will handle signage.

Helicopters will be stringing conductor (wire) onto new transmission towers. Up to 8 short traffic slowdowns are expected to occur between Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon, during daylight hours. For safety reasons, no traffic can travel under the wires as the helicopters pull them into position. Hydro One and its construction contractor, Valard, worked with the Ministry of Transportation and the OPP to plan the stringing work across the highway.

The new transmission line is expected to be in service by December 2012. The approximately 180-kilometre, double-circuit 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line is being built on a widened existing corridor, extending from the Bruce Power Facility in Kincardine to Hydro One's Milton Switching Station.

Stringing will also take place on Saturday May 7, and Sunday May 8. The OPP and the Ministry of Transportation will handle signage and traffic flow for affected motorists.

Hydro One delivers electricity safely, reliably and responsibly to homes and businesses across the province of Ontario and owns and operates Ontario's 29,000 km high-voltage transmission network that delivers electricity to large industrial customers and municipal utilities, and a 123,000 km low-voltage distribution system that serves about 1.3 million end-use customers and smaller municipal utilities in the province. Hydro One is wholly owned by the Province of Ontario.

For further information:

Hydro One Media Relations 24 hours a day at 1-877-506-7584 (toll-free in Ontario only) or 416-345-6868. Our website is www.hydrone.com