10.1 Introduction

Wood pole overhead line construction has changed significantly over the past few years. Most of the changes have been brought about by the need to mechanise a lot of the work previously achieved by manual techniques. Due to the downsizing of the workforce, previous methods are no longer practical. Line teams now need all the latest equipment in order to do the same amount of work previously undertaken by large teams of linesmen. The following chapter describes the construction of overhead lines in the order of work undertaken.

10.2 Site access

A great deal of damage can be caused by thoughtless access to private land. Compensation claims can sometimes amount to thousands of pounds, and goodwill for future access is completely lost.

A little planning prior to work commencing can alleviate any of the foreseeable problems likely to occur. Liaison with landowners is essential: they can give information about the particular access route that they would prefer to be used, they will also have first-hand knowledge of difficult terrain and areas where vehicles are likely to get bogged down. It is also valuable to discuss the type of vehicle access required. Overhead line construction can entail the use of various items of mechanical plant; winches, drum trailers, excavators and equipment trailers are commonly used for construction.

Specialised vehicles will help to solve difficult land access problems; low ground pressure vehicles are used to prevent vehicles becoming bogged down. However, in particularly bad areas, tracked vehicles, such as the...