To meet the growing demand for electricity in the western part of Loudoun, Dominion Virginia Power is constructing a 230 kilovolt transmission line east of Leesburg to Hamilton.

Preparations for the first phase of the controversial project, known also as Modified D, are already under way. Poles have been delivered to a lay-down yard near Meadowlark Drive, and clearing of trees and vegetation in the path's right-of-way is set to begin in a few weeks. Dominion Virginia officials plan that the project will be completed in fall 2010, when the new substation site northwest of Hamilton becomes fully operational.

As construction of the transmission lines are imminent, nearby residents continue to voice their opposition to the project.

"We need to inform the citizens of western Loudoun County what's about to happen," said Amy Miller, a Quail Creek resident of Hamilton. "People are about to see a lot of trees cut down and some big, big poles installed along Route 7."

The height of the transmission line poles will be 120 feet high and spaced out about every 700 feet, according to the plan on the Dominion Virginia Power's Web site. (Click here to see a map of the project, which includes a breakdown of where all the poles are expected to be built. The map has six zones that you can zoom into to see more detailed views.)

Dominion Power had investigated the option of installing the transmission line underground, but the company determined that the costs and physical impacts were too great for such a project.

In an effort to mitigate the effects of the overhead line, Del. Joe T. May (R-33) introduced and helped pass legislation in March 2008 requiring that two miles of the transmission line - a segment west of Leesburg near Dry Mill Run near the W&OD Trail - be installed underground as part of a pilot program.

Not only are preservationists and residents near the line concerned about the visual and aural impact that the line will have on the Clark's Gap area, some are worried about the medical risks that a high-powered transmission line may bring.

Patrick J. Sloyan, Sr. of Paeonian Springs cited a 2005 Oxford University public study that found a significant increase in the risk of childhood leukemia among children born in close proximity to high voltage power lines.

Dominion Virginia Power argues that there is no conclusive evidence to support any health risks from transmission lines.

Beth Powell, a resident of Hamilton in Rose Hill Estates, has two children ages 4 and 7 and is pregnant with her third child. Her property lies within a third of a mile of the proposed transmission line, but Powell still worries that her family's health will be at risk.

"We have the technology [to bury the line]," she said, adding that it is "unbelievable" that Dominion, whose parent company made billions in revenue last year, claims it can't afford to put the lines underground.

In February 2008 the State Corporation Commission approved Dominion Virginia Power's application for the transmission line and ultimately determined its route, said Le-Ha Anderson, Dominion Virginia's spokeswoman. "[The one selected] was not Dominion's preferred route," she said.

"No route can eliminate all adverse impacts," wrote the State Corporation Commission in its site ruling. "We find that Modified D minimizes as much as practicable adverse impact on scenic assets, historic districts and environments of areas concerned, and results in fewer adverse impacts than other proposed routes."