BLM approves final routes for Gateway West transmission line

BOISE – The Bureau of Land Management has authorized the final routes connecting the high-voltage Gateway West transmission line project between southwestern Idaho and central Wyoming.

The BLM’s Record of Decision, signed Friday, means Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power can build and operate 321 miles of 500-kilovolt transmission lines on public land in Idaho’s Gooding, Elmore, Owyhee, Cassia and Twin Falls counties.

The segments are part of the 1,000-mile Gateway West transmission line project to deliver 1,500 megawatts from southern Wyoming through southern Idaho to points west, potentially tapping into Wyoming’s wind energy.

Federal officials have already approved the rest of the project, but no work has started. Construction of the entire power line is expected to begin in 2019, to be completed in 2024.