Power Line Maintenance
Power Line Maintenance
On Saturday while at Hayward Regional Shoreline, D. and I happened to witness maintenance being carried out on the nearby high-tension towers crossing San Francisco Bay. A helicopter was ferrying workers and equipment between the towers as needed every few minutes. The men attached the gear to a tow line dangling from the helicopter, and after the gear was unloaded by a crew at the next tower, the copter returned and ferried the workers one by one, dangling from the end of the line over the waters of San Francisco Bay half a mile to the next tower.
Helicopter at a tower, picking up equipment.
The workers at the tower attach the gear that needs to be moved to the next tower.
Here's a guy riding a ladder being towed by the copter to the next tower. It's a half mile away.
Yikes. What does your commute look like?
The copter returns for the other worker to be transported.
Oh, hell, no.
Whee!
More shots of the helicopter, because helicopter are cool.
The copter returns again to pick up more equipment (looks like insulators).
And away they go.
You need nerves of steel to do that kind of work. In addition to the obvious dangers of electrocution from the hundreds of thousands of volts surging around you and of dangling at the end of a helicopter tow line while flying back and forth 150' above the bay water, there are probably a lot more other dangers I can't even imagine. And they do this for a living, day in and day out. I bet bungee jumping holds little thrill for those linemen!
.
On Saturday while at Hayward Regional Shoreline, D. and I happened to witness maintenance being carried out on the nearby high-tension towers crossing San Francisco Bay. A helicopter was ferrying workers and equipment between the towers as needed every few minutes. The men attached the gear to a tow line dangling from the helicopter, and after the gear was unloaded by a crew at the next tower, the copter returned and ferried the workers one by one, dangling from the end of the line over the waters of San Francisco Bay half a mile to the next tower.
Helicopter at a tower, picking up equipment.
The workers at the tower attach the gear that needs to be moved to the next tower.
Here's a guy riding a ladder being towed by the copter to the next tower. It's a half mile away.
Yikes. What does your commute look like?
The copter returns for the other worker to be transported.
Oh, hell, no.
Whee!
More shots of the helicopter, because helicopter are cool.
The copter returns again to pick up more equipment (looks like insulators).
And away they go.
You need nerves of steel to do that kind of work. In addition to the obvious dangers of electrocution from the hundreds of thousands of volts surging around you and of dangling at the end of a helicopter tow line while flying back and forth 150' above the bay water, there are probably a lot more other dangers I can't even imagine. And they do this for a living, day in and day out. I bet bungee jumping holds little thrill for those linemen!
.