The City of Woodbury says residents shouldn’t be alarmed if they see helicopters in operation starting in early January. The helicopters will help Xcel Energy replace shield wire on a transmission line in parts of Woodbury, Newport, and Cottage Grove.

“The new wire will be pulled in with the existing wire and each pole needs to be accessed with a crane or bucket truck to complete the work,” the city states in a social media post. “A helicopter will be used to pull the new wire from each structure.” A shield wire, also known as an overhead ground wire, is installed on transmission lines to protect them from lightning strikes.

The work will begin in Newport and cross into Woodbury near Military Road before continuing east to near East Ridge High School and then turning south into Cottage Grove. Motorists may experience periodic road closures in the area. The work is expected to continue through mid-March.