GLENBROOK, Nev. — Motorists traveling over Spooner Summit on U.S. Highway 50 may experience delays this week as NV Energy starts construction on its Carson City to Glenbrook transmission line rebuild, officials said on Monday.

The Tahoe Rim Trail, Clear Creek Trail, Spooner Summit Trailhead, and Spooner Summit South Day Use Area will remain open for public use.

The project, starting Tuesday June 28, in the Voltaire Canyon and Spooner Summit areas, will include timber removal and construction-related activities along 9.23 miles of the existing power line corridor on approximately 56 acres of private, state, and federal lands located between Carson City and Glenbrook.

NV Energy said in a news release that it will only be working on the portion of the project from Voltaire Canyon to the east side of Spooner Summit, which includes parts of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. The other sections of the project will be completed at a later date.  

The project will improve service reliability, make the line more resilient and help mitigate wildfire risk, the release said.

Much of the work will be done by helicopter, minimizing impacts to the environment. In conventional construction, crews build access roads and drive trucks to the work site, but aerial construction transports workers, equipment, and materials by flying them into place with the aid of a long, synthetic rope suspended beneath the helicopter.  

The Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit signed the decision memo in August 2021 authorizing the power line rebuild. Project documents may be viewed at https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=58015.