PPL Electric will be improving electrical service and system reliability to over 1,600 customers in Jim Thorpe's east side.

On Thursday, the Carbon County commissioners spoke briefly about PPL's 12kV river crossing project to replace poles and wires across the Lehigh River.The board said that it should help the 1,680 customers served on that side of the borough once completed.Paul Wirth, PPL spokesman, said the $240,000 project is part of the company's $1 billion reliability improvement project taking place throughout the region.The start of the project will be dependent on the opening of the new Route 903 bridge to traffic, he said, adding that once work begins, PPL will have a two-week window before the start of demolition on the old bridge to complete the work.The project will consist of installing stronger poles and wires "that will be more resistant to storms" across the Lehigh River."So (that will mean) fewer power outages for people served by those wires," Wirth said.Two poles will be installed adjacent to the existing rights of way for utility lines on each side of the river.PPL will then utilize the old bridge to run temporary cables across it so no power interruption occurs while work is being done.Wirth said that no power interruptions are expected and only minimal travel delays should occur."At the point when we have to stretch the wires across Route 209, there may be one day of restrictions, but only short periods of time," he said.The current poles that are on the site were installed in 1952.Palmerton-Little GapPPL Electric is also applying for a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to rebuild a 2.6-mile section between East Palmerton and Little Gap to better serve its customers.The 69kV overhead transmission lines start from the East Palmerton substation and extend to the Little Gap substation.According to a project description, the existing wood poles will be replaced with new steel monopoles to strengthen reliability, existing conductor cables and additional hardware will also be replaced.Work will be done in the existing rights of way and the existing access road will be expanded to accommodate the new poles and equipment access needs."The project will improve electrical service and system reliability for customers in Palmerton and Little Gap areas," the project description states.Wirth said that the timing for this project is not until 2017, but no exact timetable has been announced.Once work begins, PPL will need approximately 2-3 months to complete the project.