Oncor removes Argyle routes from proposed transmission line

Oncor has removed some of the most disruptive possible routes for a proposed transmission line through part of southern Denton County.

During the holidays, Oncor informed residents of several different possible routes for a new transmission line that the company is installing from outside Newark in southern Wise County, to west Flower Mound, southeast of the FM 1171/Hwy 377 interchange. Some of the proposed routes would be disruptive to residential and commercial areas of Argyle and Northlake, and their town leaders quickly began working together to try to discourage the most disruptive routes.

Oncor representatives have told local leaders that part of their process for building a new transmission line is to consider as many options as possible, vet them, and then whittle down the options over time, eventually landing on the one best route, considering all factors.

On Thursday, Oncor filed an application with the Public Utility Commission of Texas, according to the town of Argyle, and some of the possible routes in earlier documents have been removed, including some that jogged north into the town of Argyle and would have cut through residential areas.

Former Argyle Mayor Bryan Livingston and Northlake Mayor David Rettig had worked together to draw their own alternative route that cut through U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land west of Lake Grapevine. Oncor is not allowed to ask for such a route, but government officials are, so some local leaders petitioned to get the USACE to allow for the transmission line to cut through its land to make a route that is less disruptive to local residents. However, Oncor is not considering the alternative routes and they were not included in the application, according to Argyle Town Administrator Erika McComis.