Muskrat Falls transmission line site being cleared through central Newfoundland

Construction crews are clearing trees from a site as wide as a football field to make way for Nalcor's transmission line in central Newfoundland. 

The location, just 20 kilometres west of Badger, is being cleared to make way for the line, which will bring Muskrat Falls hydroelectric power from Labrador to Newfoundland.  

The Labrador-Island Link will run from central Labrador, crossing the Strait of Belle Isle, and extending to the Avalon Peninsula.

Jim Payne, who operates the mulcher, said the cleaner electricity that will eventually come through the land he's clearing is not for him. 

"It's for our future generations I guess," Payne said. "I've got young grandchildren hopefully they will benefit from it."

The entire effort to clear the land and construct roads will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

"We have tried to avoid bogs and wetlands, areas where it would be difficult to construct," said Nalcor vice-president Gilbert Bennett, who visits the site monthly.

"We look [at] cabins [and] homes as part of the process and route around to the extent we can."

Once the trees are cleared, tower construction can begin; a massive undertaking that will take a year to complete in each major site across the province.