South Bass Isle Submarine

The installation of two 35 kV submarine power cables from Lake Erie’s Catawba Island to South Bass Island required Durocher Marine to work within more than a mile of bedrock and the habitat of an endangered water snake.

The $2.4-million project featured the installation of two sub-aqueous cables 15,000 feet across Lake Erie. During the on-shore phase of the project Durocher Marine constructed a 3,400-foot-long trench, cut into bedrock with a Vermeer trencher.  Each shore landing required the cables to be installed in a concrete encased conduit to a water depth of 30 feet.

Durocher Marine scheduled its work around the endangered Lake Erie Water Snake, to protect the specie’s hibernation habitats. The company hired a wildlife biologist consultant to monitor the snake’s population and environmental conditions during the construction phase.