A county judge has agreed to temporarily halt construction of a power line through southwest Wisconsin, provided opponents of the project can come up with millions of dollars to cover potential costs of a delay. Utilities had planned to begin building the $492 million Cardinal-Hickory Creek transmission line between Middleton and Dubuque, Iowa, on October 25, according to court documents.

Judge Jacob Frost granted a request Monday for an injunction to put the project on hold while the courts consider challenges to its permit, agreeing that clearing land would result in damage that could not be easily repaired if the line is ultimately stopped.

“This power line could still very well happen,” Frost said. “The one bell that really can’t be unrung is if I let the work go forward while the process is still being challenged.”

A joint venture of American Transmission Co., ITC Midwest and Dairyland Power Cooperative, the 102-mile line is the subject of multiple state and federal legal challenges from the Driftless Area Land Conservancy and Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.