After almost a year of meetings, sorting through comments from the community and deliberating, a stakeholder advisory group (SAG) has come up with a recommended route for the four-mile 115 kilovolt (kV) transmission line Puget Sound Energy (PSE) plans to construct from Redmond to Kirkland.

The new Sammamish-Juanita line will run from PSE’s Sammamish substation at 9221 Willows Rd. N.E. in Redmond to its Juanita substation at 10910 N.E. 132nd St. in Kirkland and will be part of the larger Moorlands electric system that also serves Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville.

The recommended route will run to the east of the Sammamish substation. Its main stretch will be along Willows Road Northeast to Northeast 124th Street before heading west. The northern most half of the Willows Road Northeast portion will be woven through businesses in the area because the City of Redmond has designated this area as a view corridor.

PSE officials said if they don’t receive permission from all businesses in the area to weave their line through, the fallback will be to just continue along Willows Road Northeast up to Northeast 124th Street.

Once it hits Northeast 124th Street, the line will then run southwest along the rail corridor, crossing Interstate 405 and then head north along 120th Avenue Northeast and then west back on Northeast 124th Street, ending just south of Juanita High School.

The SAG announced the final route on July 18 and held community open house events earlier this week — including one Wednesday evening at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse Community Center — to gather more feedback on the route.

Project manager Barry Lombard said since the recommended route was announced, there have been no “game-changer” comments as most of the feedback PSE has received has been positive.

One of the biggest concerns people had throughout the commenting process was having the line run through residential areas. The final recommended route minimizes this and as a result, many of the comments posted on the feedback board at Wednesday’s open house thanked PSE for doing this.

“We did really listen to people,” Lombard said.

In coming up with the final route, the SAG — which included local residents, business owners, landowners and city representatives — initially came up with 30 routes for the new line. Members narrowed it down to three routes before presenting the alternatives to the community earlier this summer. PSE held public meetings in Redmond and Kirkland to gain feedback, answer questions and learn about any concerns people had. From there, the SAG came up with a final recommended route that is a hybrid of two of the three alternatives presented in June.

Lombard said they don’t typically hold such an involved process when they have to construct a new transmission line. PSE will usually hold public meetings to let communities know what is happening and gather feedback but they only use a SAG in more urbanized areas.

“You can’t avoid impacting people,” he said about all projects, but especially those in more populated communities.

Now that a recommended route has been determined, PSE will go back and determine a final route, incorporating any feedback they receive. Lombard said the route should be finalized some time in September. From there, PSE will begin designing, applying for permits and property rights along the line route. Lombard said construction will probably start around 2014 or 2015.

PSE began the Sammamish-Juanita 115kV Line project in 2008 in response to the increased use of electricity in the area due to the growing population as well as the increased use of electronics.

Redmond resident David Rossiter, who stopped by Wednesday’s open house, said he can see the need for an additional transmission line.

“We have an office in our home, so our electricity use is up in the last five years,” he said. “If we’re typical, I get it.”