By next month, power lines that once hung above a critical segment of Nevada Avenue will be gone — at least, to the naked eye.

Colorado Springs Utilities has nearly completed a project it began in March to move about a mile of overhead electric lines on Nevada Avenue underground, along the stretch between East Harrison and East Commerce streets. Officials said in March the project will “bolster” the reliance and resilience of Colorado Springs’ electric grid for this vital corridor that serves thousands of customers and major hospitals, including CommonSpirit Penrose Main hospital.

Between Aug. 5-19, Utilities crews will complete the last segment of the project, connecting electric infrastructure already installed underground, officials said in a news release Monday. Much of the work includes crews digging trenches to install the lines, then paving over the trenches, Utilities spokesman Alex Trefry said.

The power lines will be buried but other infrastructure will remain aboveground, such as transformers and switch boxes that control the flow of power, he said.

The last segment of work will take place at the intersection of Nevada Avenue and Fillmore Street. Construction will take place on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to minimize impacts to businesses in the area and traffic, Trefry said.

Access to businesses will remain open.

Travelers should prepare for traffic pattern shifts. Through traffic will be maintained in all directions during the work, left-hand turns will be affected as the work zone shifts, according to the news release.

Burying overhead power lines along this portion of Nevada Avenue supports Utilities’ Sustainable Energy Plan, officials said. The plan was first developed in 2020 to guide the agency’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions 80% by 2030, among other goals.

Trefry said utilities officials also want to safeguard the electric infrastructure along this section of Nevada Avenue, through the undergrounding project, from weather events like extreme wind and other storms.

For example, the Nevada corridor “experienced several issues,” like pole failures, during a massive windstorm that blew through Colorado Springs in mid-December 2021, he said. The storm toppled semitrailers, tore down centuries-old trees, downed more than 50 utilities poles and knocked out power to as many as 40,000 Colorado Springs Utilities customers.

Moving the power lines underground won’t make them immune to interruptions or damages caused by events like extreme weather, but it can mitigate them, Trefry said. Underground transmissions can still be impacted by storms because aboveground sources that feed them can be affected.

Underground lines are also vulnerable to flooding and are harder to repair when damage occurs because the damaged area can be more difficult to locate, according to Utilities’ website. Traffic lanes on Kiowa Street between Nevada Avenue and Tejon Street downtown were closed for weeks, for instance, after an underground fire on Sept. 11 triggered an extensive power outage downtown that impacted at least 280 customers, including several businesses. Six months after the fire, Utilities announced in March a nicked wire caused the incident.

Utilities is not currently working on other projects to move existing overhead electric lines underground, Trefry said.

City ordinance since the 1970s requires all new developments in Colorado Springs be connected to underground electric services.