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Not_a_tasty_fish t1_j5w0vun wrote

Reply to comment by BfN_Turin in Lawmakers pushing for MBTA to electrify Commuter Rail by 2035 by ToadScoper

"Just put them underground". Fucking lol

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BfN_Turin t1_j5w3kxe wrote

Massachusetts has a similar population density to Germany. Every tiny village in Germany has their power lines underground. Nothing to “fucking lol” about. It’s doable.

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vhalros t1_j5w6yx0 wrote

Perhaps an even more relevant example, Cambridge has already buried most of their power lines.

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mgzukowski t1_j5w401a wrote

That's not the issue, it's the other shit that's buried.

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BfN_Turin t1_j5w5ugw wrote

And you think nothing was buried in Germany when they did it there?

Edit: just to clarify. The government has a pretty damn good idea what’s buried where here. Hence calling them before you dig. They can tell what’s there. Germany didn’t even know. Plans were gone after WW2, if they even existed from before. And there were bombs from the war everywhere as well. They still got it done.

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mgzukowski t1_j5wuqqw wrote

That's why they got it done, everything had been totally destroyed. So everything had to be rebuilt. Boston never got that, so shit is all over the place down there.

If it was easy it would be done already, since it would be safer.

Also at the same.point they don't know what down there. Not perfectly that's why even with dog safe things get hit

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BfN_Turin t1_j5wz5eh wrote

Nope. Power lines were put underground in the 70s. Germany had been rebuild by then and was deep into the Wirtschaftswunder.

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mgzukowski t1_j5wzo0f wrote

The point was they had to rebuild everything so everything was organized. Not that it was done all at once.

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BfN_Turin t1_j5x169x wrote

But it wasn’t. No one knew what was in the ground. Hell, there were bombs all over the place still, they even find them regularly during construction work right now. They needed to build as much housing as possible in as little time as possible. The building material was often the rubble from destroyed buildings. Electricity was rebuilt quickly as well. Germany had a fully function electricity network again within a few years after the war. With utility poles like the US, cause it had to be fast. Then, in the 70s, the conscious decision was made to put them underground. Germany was fully rebuild by then already. Saying that decision 30 years after the war is connected to the build up is simply wrong. Another great way to show this rebuild argument doesn’t make sense is simply using another country as example: Switzerland. They also mainly have underground powerlines and we’re not destroyed during the war at all. Now, I have to say that I do not know anything about the history about this in Switzerland, but their underground lines are for sure not based on rebuilding the country from rubbles. Denmark is the same as well.

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michael_scarn_21 t1_j5yon0x wrote

Right? I was amazed at how often there are power cuts after winter storms here compared to the UK. The difference is lines are buried in the UK.

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batmansmotorcycle t1_j5wxrcl wrote

Why is the argument for everything “well Europe does it so we should do”. It’s like watching boomers meme on Facebook.

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BfN_Turin t1_j5wzkl5 wrote

Well. The person before me mentioned it can’t be done. I showed an example that it can. Sorry I hurt your “America is always the best” brain with it.

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batmansmotorcycle t1_j5x3jdh wrote

Nothing to do my brain or the country, it’s a false equivalency fallacy commonplace in this sub.

It can be done, at a prohibitively expensive cost. There isn’t a really benefit to it either other than a nicer view maybe.

You’d have to bury local substations and long transmission lines to fully be free from weather disruptions.

I love disagreeing with the /r/Boston hive mind.

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CJYP t1_j5xb88f wrote

So in your mind, it's not a benefit to reduce weather related power outages unless you can eliminate them completely?

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batmansmotorcycle t1_j5yju5t wrote

Lol no I think the people who argue for this grew up on a nice suburban culd a sac with burried lines and have no idea how the grids work.

Worth it at what cost?

Give me an estimate if one exists.

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cbg13 t1_j5w5aqa wrote

A family friend of ours recently had to bury about 300 feet of power lines on their business' property and it cost 350k.

The real kick in the pants is that the power company offered to bury all of the lines on the property (probably half a mile or more) 15 years ago for 150k, but our friend's business wasn't able to afford it at the time.

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milkfiend t1_j5w3gjq wrote

"Just" is doing some mighty heavy lifting there

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