By Chris Hill, Director of Municipal Electric Services
ARLINGTON
I’ve passed by Arlington several times traveling on Highway 81. August 10th, 2018 was the first time I drove through Arlington. The first thing I notice was the pond on the west side of 81, then of course the baseball field caught my eye. Electrical Superintendent Matt Asmussen let me know that the maintenance shop is on the left side of Highway 14 as you are heading towards main street. I showed up a little bit early to drive through town and instantly appreciate the wonderful roads, nice street light poles with LED lights, and the lack of overhead wires.
New Sub Station completed in 2017
Utility Superintendent Marshal Mix mentioned a new development on the south side of Arlington with three new houses developed so far and a few more lots for sale. Marshal and Matt also drove me out to the Industrial Park which has three businesses and hopes to add more businesses in the future.
Utility Superintendent Marshal Mix and Electrical Superintendent Matt Asmussen
Arlington is 99.9% underground with only 1 overhead primary left in the town. They have been replacing light poles and lights as needed and have replaced all along the main roads. Matt informed me that they have about half of the poles left to replace and have used grants for street lights from Heartland Consumers Power District.
In the center of town is a new sub station that was completed in 2017 as they converted the town voltage from 2400/4160 to 7200/12470. The sub station is fed from a 1-mile feeder line from East River Electric. 16
Main Street looking south
Visiting with Marshal and Matt, I can tell that Arlington is a very proactive community with a lot to offer. They have residential and industrial lots for sale and are proud of their school system which has one of the highest ratings for ACT scores in the state. I enjoyed spending time with SOUTH DAKOTA MUNICIPALITIES
