Coast Highway to Lose Utility Poles

The last utility poles along a 5-mile stretch of Coast Highway will be removed within a month, completing a 10-year project to convert the area to underground utility lines, San Diego Gas & Electric officials said Friday.

Spokesman Tom Larimore said SDG&E; and the local telephone company, GTE California Inc., are removing their lines from the remaining poles, which line a quarter-mile stretch of the highway between West Street and 5th Avenue. Dimension Cable Television has already removed its lines.

The poles, owned by the electric company, will be removed next. They originally lined a stretch of highway from Aliso Pier to the north to Doheny State Beach in the south.

Larimore said his company allocates money annually for pole removal projects--$1.3 million over the past two years in south Orange County--but local governments decide which poles should be removed.

“Orange County asked us to remove this stretch of poles in order to open up the environment along the beach,” Larimore said.

Underground lines cannot be damaged by wind, rain or lightning, nor downed by cars slamming into poles, although there are still some above-ground transformers that could be hit, Larimore said.