Southern California Edison Tioga Pass 12 kV Relocation (Rhinedollar Phase II)

Southern California Edison (SCE) supplies electrical power to the Tioga Pass Entrance Station and the Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite National Park. The 12 kV direct burial electrical cable that supplies power to the Tioga Pass Entrance Station is corroding and may cause a risk of electrocution through an electrical fault that would use the earth as a conductor, potentially injuring park visitors and wildlife. SCE plans to abandon 13,200 feet of existing direct burial electrical cable and construct 13,000 feet of new conduit and cable system. The vast majority of this project will occur on US Forest Service Inyo National Forest administered lands along Tioga Road/Hwy 120. Only 125 feet of the proposed relocation will occur within Yosemite.

The work within Yosemite proposes to build 125 feet of new conduit and electrical cable to connect to an existing electrical vault. This vault is located 15 feet off the edge of Tioga Road, between the entrance station and the parking lot adjacent to the comfort station. The majority of the proposed construction will be located within the travel lane of westbound Tioga Road. In order to accommodate this construction there will need to be single lane closures to excavate the new trench, place conduit, backfill the trench and pull electrical cable. Significant coordination will be necessary in order to operate the entrance station during the construction period. It is anticipated there will also be some closures along Hwy 120 outside of the park. The entire project is anticipated to last 12 weeks, occurring from May till August 2014, with the Yosemite portion of the work lasting no more than two weeks.