Construction is set to begin next year on the final leg of the CapX2020 transmission line that will run from near Hampton in Dakota County to Rochester, and then through Wabasha County across the Mississippi River to the Alma area. It will then proceed through Buffalo and Trempealeau counties to the La Crosse area.
                       
Jonathan Hladik with the Center for Rural Affairs, says construction of the 125 mile line means economic development for the area.  Hladik says the project also means increased tax dollars for communities along the route. He says numbers for Minnesota have not been calculated yet, but in Wisconsin, 14 local governments along the line will get an average yearly total of more than a million dollars.

The new transmission line should be in service by 2015 or 2016.