Low-Flying Helicopters To Become A Common Sight Throughout Michigan

NOVI (WWJ) -- Don't be alarmed: low-flying helicopters are expected to be hovering around metro Detroit over the next two weeks.

Kelly Fulford with ITC Transmission Systems said it's all a part of biannual maintenance conducted on the high voltage lines that transmit electricity from power-generating facilities to power distributing plants.

"We have 8700 miles of transmission lines here in the lower peninsula of Michigan," Fulford said. "We patrol those twice a year. We look for any encroaching vegetation or maintenance issues that need to be addressed."

The aerial inspections in southern Michigan will cover the area from Kalamazoo, south to the Ohio border and east to the Lake St. Clair area, including all or parts of Barry, Branch, Calhoun, Eaton, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, St. Joseph, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties.

Weather permitting, the inspections will run through September 23.