LEWISTON — Efforts to tie downtown Lewiston-Auburn into Central Maine Power’s expanded electrical transmission system went underground this week as workers began burying lines north of the downtown.

Work on downtown streets later this month will involve detours.

The Lewiston Loop, a 115-kilovolt transmission line, will connect the Larrabee Road substation to a yet-to-be-built downtown substation on Middle Street at the foot of the Great Falls.

The new line and substation — in addition to an overhead transmission line and several other minor upgrades — form the $72 million Lewiston Loop project, which is designed to address electrical reliability in the Lewiston-Auburn area.

According to a CMP news release, underground lines will go along Main, Chapel, Lowell, Canal and Lisbon streets and along Strawberry Patch Road.

Company spokeswoman Gail Rice said work officially began Monday on Strawberry Patch Road transmission lines. It should move to Lowell Street near the end of next week.

The work moves to Chapel Street later this month, then to Main, Canal and Lisbon streets before returning to Strawberry Patch Road.

Work along Lisbon, Main and Canal streets will involve detours and that work will be done at night. Work on the other streets and at the Middle Street Substation site will likely occur during the day.

Underground construction is expected to continue through the middle of 2017. The Middle Street Substation is scheduled to be energized in 2018.

staylor@sunjournal.com

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