NEGAUNEE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The city of Negaunee is celebrating the end of an over four year project and cutting the ribbon on their new Irontown substation on the southern edge of the city. The new substation has been in operation for about a month and is replacing an over 60 year-old substation on US-41 that used to power Negaunee.
The new substation is more efficient and safer than the older station, which was outdated and in a potentially hazardous location. Negaunee City Manager Nate Heffron said it was primarily these safety concerns that led them to construct a new substation.
“The old system was super old who knew how long it was going to last,” said Heffron. “And we were certainly aware of the possibility of potentially a semi or another vehicle crashing into the substation located so close to US-41.”
The new substation cost over 7 million dollars and Heffron said the city plans to pay it off over the next 20 years, and he expects the new substation to be in operation for sixty years, or more.