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Workers assemble a new transmission tower along Highway 37 in Novato on Thursday, March 17, 2022. The new towers, right, will replace the 1960s era towers, at left. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)

A crew works on power lines along Highway 37 in Novato on Thursday, March 17, 2022. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)

A new transmission tower, right, is assembled along Highway 37 next to a 1960s era tower it will replace in Novato on Thursday, March 17, 2022. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)

Workers assemble a new transmission tower along Highway 37 in Novato on Thursday, March 17, 2022. The new towers, right, will replace the 1960s era towers, at left. (Alan Dep/Marin Independent Journal)

Aging transmission towers considered key to electric service in the North Bay are being upgraded beginning this spring.

Sixteen towers along Highway 37 between Novato to a Napa County substation are slated to be replaced, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesperson Deanna Contreras said.

The current towers are tubular steel “hairpin” towers that have served the county since the 1960s. They will be replaced with modern lattice steel towers, she said.

“We have finished building the foundations for the first four towers that will be installed — all located in Marin County along Highway 37,” Contreras said. Those towers will be installed by the end of April. The defunct equipment will be removed later this spring.

A fifth tower will be replaced by the end of the year. The remaining 11 towers will be upgraded in future years, she said.

“This is a 230-kilovolt transmission line that serves tens of thousands of customers and is an essential backbone of the system in the North Bay,” Contreras said.

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