Ameren Gets OK For Transmission Line In Illinois

State regulators have given Ameren permission to acquire the right-of-way to build a 380-mile-long transmission line across Illinois.

The Springfield bureau of Lee Enterprises newspapers reports that Ameren Transmission received approval from the

Illinois Commerce Commission for section of Coles, Douglas, Moultrie and Piatt counties.  Regulators denied construction in certain areas, including larger substations in Mount Zion and Pana, and delayed action on a section of the line between Pana and Pawnee.

The high-voltage transmission line is planned to be 150-feet wide and run from Quincy to Terre Haute, Ind.

Regulators denied construction in certain areas and the St. Louis-based company says it is reviewing its options on routing those segments. Construction is scheduled to begin as early as 2014.

The line will have 80 to 90-foot tall poles on 12-foot wide concrete bases. The company says that's to allow landowners to use land for farming or grazing.