Frisco “Bury the Lines” Fight Continues

The fight against a proposed power line project continues for Frisco neighbors.

This month, Brazos Electric Power Cooperative filed plans with the state to build a substation and transmission lines. The proposed routes for the lines are either down Frisco's Main Street or Stonebrook Parkway.

West Frisco neighbors have been rallying with the catchphrase "Bury the Lines" since 2013.

"We're all on the same page – the lines have to be buried," said homeowner and realtor Meredith Held, adding the lines are "definitely more than just an eyesore."

The main concern, she says, is property values.

The city of Frisco has also filed a motion to intervene on behalf of its citizens because of its own concerns as well.

"We believe [burying the lines] is the only rational way to go because of our plans to widen Main Street," said Ben Brezina, Frisco's assistant to the city manager.

Brezina says Brazos' plan to place overhead lines on Main Street, the shorter of the two options, would interfere with city plans to increase capacity on the already strained thoroughfare.

Brazos would use the median of the street, forcing the city to acquire extra land, which Held says would come too close to her property line.

However, if Brazos chose to bury the lines on Main Street, the city would be able to widen the road at the same time.

The proposal submitted by Brazos to the public utilities commission includes cost estimates for both buried and above ground lines.

Overhead transmission lines along Main Street would cost nearly $6 million.

Burying the lines along the same route would increase the cost to more than $34 million.

The project’s final fate must be decided within the next year.