Rosemead, Calif., utility to bury power lines in fire-hit Altadena, Malibu rebuild
Southern California Edison (SCE) has announced a large-scale plan to rebuild and modernize its electric distribution system in Altadena and Malibu, with a key focus on moving power lines underground in areas damaged by January’s wildfires.
The utility’s preliminary plan calls for undergrounding approximately 153 circuit miles of distribution lines – including nearly all lines in high fire risk zones within the burn areas, and an additional 23 miles in Altadena neighborhoods outside of those zones. Another 19 circuit miles in Altadena are still being evaluated for potential undergrounding.
SCE outlined the proposal in a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom and is working closely with local, state and federal officials, nonprofit groups and residents to refine the effort. Estimated costs for the project range from $860 million to $925 million. The company said it will seek funding from multiple sources, including government and philanthropic channels, to reduce the financial burden on customers.
“Just three months have passed since the devastating wildfires, and all of us at Edison continue to keep those affected in our thoughts. We’re working closely with state and county leaders and the communities of Altadena and Malibu to rebuild wildfire-impacted areas stronger than ever,” said Pedro J. Pizarro, president and CEO of Edison International, SCE’s parent company. “SCE’s rebuilding plan will underground electrical distribution infrastructure where feasible and make the most of breakthrough technologies to reduce wildfire risk.”
Steven Powell, president and CEO of SCE, said the rebuild will include capacity upgrades and modern technologies to improve service reliability and emergency response.
The plan includes burying 90 circuit miles in Malibu and surrounding areas, and 40 miles in Altadena and nearby high-risk zones, with additional circuit miles hardened using covered conductor where undergrounding is not feasible. Some sections are expected to be completed within months, while others could take years depending on permits, community feedback and funding availability.
SCE says it is coordinating with Los Angeles County, Caltrans and telecommunications providers to reduce costs and permit delays. More than 50 community meetings and town halls have been held since January to gather input, and the utility says that ongoing feedback will continue shaping the final plan.
Edison International has acknowledged that SCE equipment may have played a role in the Eaton Fire, but an investigation remains underway. The company said it remains committed to transparency and community support during the recovery.
U.S. Army Corps moves to expedite Line 5 tunnel under Trump’s emergency order
The permitting process for the Line 5 tunnel project will be expedited, according to an announcement from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Detroit District and reported by the Detroit Free Press.
The proposed tunnel for an oil and gas pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac has faced continued opposition from environmental groups. President Trump issued an order declaring an “energy emergency” in the early days of his second administration, calling on projects such as Line 5 to move forward at rapid pace.
Opponents of the project have called the proposed construction risky, and with an expedited timeline that bypasses safety and proper permitting protocol – reckless.
Canadian company Enbridge's Line 5 infrastructure moves 23 million gallons of oil and gas liquids per day east through the Upper Peninsula, splitting into twin underwater pipelines on the Straits of Mackinac bottom, before returning to a single transmission pipeline through the Lower Peninsula that runs south to Sarnia, Ontario. Aging pipes and loss of protective coatings have been among the growing concerns.
Enbridge proposes to build a 21-foot diameter, 3.6-mile tunnel underneath the bed of the Straits of Mackinac to house a new, 30-inch diameter pipeline to move the oil and natural gas liquids. The tunnel pipeline would replace the twin pipes currently on the Straits bottom, Army Corps officials said.
C3ntro to install over 1,500 miles of fiber optic connecting U.S., Mexico
C3ntro Telecom announced the launch of its Tikva Project. Through Tikva, an approximately 1,553-mile (2,500-kilometer) fiber optic network between Phoenix, Az., and Querétaro, Mexico, representing an ambitious step in cross-border connectivity.
Designed with AI-ready fiber technology, multi-duct capacity, and a diverse, low-latency Pacific route, Tikva delivers a fully underground, redundant cross-border solution. This milestone marks the first project of its kind in over 25 years and positions C3ntro as the single provider delivering unified service-level agreements (SLAs) across the U.S. and Mexico, while covering key cities along Mexico’s Pacific corridor.
The Tikva network, which began construction in March of this year, is slated to be ready for service in Q4 2026, offering hyperscalers, cloud providers, carriers, international operators and enterprises an unparalleled solution for high-capacity, low-latency connectivity, including dark fiber and wavelength services at 100/400/800Gb speeds.
The project leverages advanced fiber technology with hyperscale-class construction and underground installations to ensure maximum reliability and scalability. By connecting Phoenix, one of North America’s fastest-growing data center markets, with Querétaro, Mexico’s leading data center hub, Tikva will enable seamless data exchange across two of the most critical AI data center regions in the world.
Fatal scaffolding collapse halts work at Texas LNG site
Construction at Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG site in Texas came to a halt on April 29 after a scaffolding collapse left three workers dead and two others injured, according to project contractor Bechtel, according to Reuters.
The five workers were on the scaffolding structure shortly before 2 a.m. when the collapse occurred, Sempra said in a statement. Bechtel, which is leading the construction of the site, immediately suspended all work to allow for a full investigation into the incident.
Sempra’s Port Arthur Phase 1 project, expected to produce 13 million tons of LNG annually, is targeting first LNG production in 2027.
The two injured workers were treated and have since been released from the hospital, according to Sempra.
Centuri awarded nearly $400 million for U.S. gas work
Centuri Holdings, Inc. (Centuri), a leading North American utility infrastructure services company, has announced nearly $400 million in customer awards for its U.S. gas business segment. The awards reflect booking and options for multiple Master Service Agreement (MSA) renewals, including expansion into new operating territory for a key gas utility client in the Northeast.
The work includes 1) the replacement of existing aged natural gas infrastructure and system betterment and 2) leverages Centuri's diversified union and non-union workforce. This announcement follows new awards totaling more than $850 million announced on April 1 and March 24.
Louisville Water resumes pipeline project after historic flooding causes delay
Engineers with the Louisville Water Company resumed work April 24 on an extensive pipeline replacement project in Louisville, Kentucky, after historic flooding from a nearby river paused operations, according to the Courier Journal.
The company's Residual Line Project is an effort to replace a more than 50-year-old pipeline carrying waste left over from the filtration process from the Crescent Hill Water Treatment Plant to the B.E. Payne Water Treatment Plant in Prospect, the Courier Journal reported. To replace the pipes, workers have to dig out sections of River Road, which require closures.
According to Kelley Dearing Smith, vice president of communications for Louisville Water, necessary road closures are expected to continue until at least Summer 2026.
Since work on the project began March 10, Louisville Water has installed about 20 percent of the pipe needed, officials said. The 10-day delay due to the April floods is not likely to impact the project's timeline.
Louisville Water's goal is to replace all of the pipes between Zorn Avenue and Blankenbaker Lane by the end of May. Work will then continue northeast, ending at about where River Road meets Transylvania Avenue in Prospect. While the pipeline is replaced, Louisville Water will not shut off water access for any of the roughly 1 million customers it serves.
Arkansas commits $575 million to strengthen statewide water, sewer infrastructure
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has signed a trio of bills committing more than $575 million toward water and wastewater infrastructure improvements across the state.
The legislation, passed during the 2025 session, includes:
SB420 (Act 736): Allows private utilities to convert into public water authorities, making them eligible for additional state funding.
HB1681 (Act 812): Establishes the Water and Sewer Treatment Facilities Grant Program. It will allocate $25 million annually for three years using interest earnings, with 20% reserved for small rural systems serving populations of 1,200 or fewer.
SB421 (Act 578): Proposes a 2026 ballot initiative to authorize $500 million in long-term funding for water and wastewater projects through 2043, using loan repayments. No increase to general revenue is proposed. The state’s current bond authority is set to expire in summer 2027.
Since taking office, Sanders has overseen $2.5 billion in water-related investments supporting 478 community projects across all 75 counties. Her administration also launched the state’s first comprehensive levee inventory and is currently updating the Arkansas Water Plan, set to be completed next year. She has also supported emergency equipment upgrades for rural water systems and authorized emergency action to stabilize the City of Helena-West Helena’s water system.
Final tunnel construction begins for Toronto’s Eglinton transit extension project
According to Metrolinx, crews in Toronto have begun the final phase of construction for tunnels that will connect the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension to the existing terminus of the Eglinton Crosstown LRT (Line 5 Eglinton) at Mount Dennis Station in Toronto, Canada.
Last year, the contract to design and build the second underground segment of the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension was awarded to Strabag Inc.
The 1,640-foot (500-meter) twin tunnels are being built using the sequential excavation method, which is often used for smaller sections of tunnels, Metrolinx reported. With this method, the area to be tunneled is divided into smaller sections and excavated in sequence. Concrete is then sprayed onto the tunnel walls as the sections are excavated to reinforce the exposed walls. About one to two meters of tunnel are excavated each day.
Last year, twin tunnel boring machines Renny and Rexy completed a two-year project in which they excavated a 3.91-mile (6.3-kilometer) stretch of the western tunneled section of the line. At the end of the twin tunnel section is where the future rapid transit line will transition to an above-ground section.
The extension will make Line 5 Eglinton another expansive east-west rapid transit line for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), running all the way from Scarborough, through midtown Toronto and into Mississauga. The project will add seven new stations to Line 5 Eglinton’s 25 stations and stops.
$182 million gas pipeline replacement project begins in Southeast Michigan
Consumers Energy has launched construction on its Four Cities Metro Pipeline project, a $182 million upgrade to ensure continued natural gas reliability for customers across Oakland and Macomb counties.
The project will replace aging infrastructure serving the cities of Royal Oak, Clawson, Madison Heights, and Warren, with eight miles of new 24-inch pipeline expected to be installed by 2029. Construction is now underway at four intersections in the metro Detroit region.
The Four Cities Metro Pipeline replaces segments of a system originally built in the 1950s. Consumers Energy has coordinated with local governments to minimize disruptions and adjust pipeline routing where needed. The project is expected to create about 100 construction jobs annually.
Consumers Energy provides natural gas and electricity to 6.8 million Michigan residents across 68 Lower Peninsula counties.
Corte Madera, Calif., water district plans 13-mile pipeline to boost drought supply
Marin Water is moving ahead with design and environmental review for a 13.2-mile underground pipeline and new pumping station aimed at improving drought resilience by redirecting excess winter flows from the Russian River into local reservoirs.
The Marin Water Board of Directors on Feb. 25 voted to advance the planning phase for what would be the district’s largest water supply infrastructure project in more than four decades.
The proposal calls for construction of a 36-inch-wide pipeline from the North Marin Aqueduct to Marin Water’s Nicasio Reservoir. The system would capture surplus winter runoff from the Russian River Watershed — an area 40 times larger than Marin’s own — and store it for later use during dry years.
During drought conditions, the pipeline could deliver up to 3,800 acre-feet of water annually. A potential second phase of the project could increase capacity to 8,100 acre-feet per year. The district last undertook a water project of this magnitude in 1982, when Kent Lake was expanded.
Water collected through this pipeline would not come from Sonoma County’s stored supply but from seasonal “winter water” — rainfall-driven flows that typically flood the Russian River during wet months and eventually flow into the Pacific Ocean.
The board’s February decision marks a milestone in the district’s long-term Integrated Water Supply Roadmap, which was developed in response to the 2021 water shortage emergency. The plan outlines five core strategies, each with multiple projects aimed at strengthening the district’s water system against climate-driven variability. UI