Residents of Bowling Green’s 3rd and 4th wards will see a $6.4 million gas line replacement project begin within the next few weeks.
The project’s start date is “weather-dependent” but is expected to be in March, said Chris Kozak, communications and community relations manager for Columbia Gas of Ohio. The first step will be to run cameras through the city’s sewers to map them out so as not to hit them while doing
pipeline work.
Columbia Gas will upgrade main lines from steel to plastic and replace lines connecting main lines to individual homes. In total, about 37,500 feet of pipelines will be upgraded, Kozak said.
Other upgrades include moving meters in basements so they are outside and upgrading pipes from low pressure to medium pressure, Kozak said.
Columbia Gas determined which pipelines to upgrade based on which systems have required more frequent repairs, Kozak said.
Lines will be replaced between Ordway Avenue and Poe Road west of Main Street, said Municipal Administrator John Fawcett.
The project will affect 930 customers, Kozak said. [There is no financial cost to any residents, however.] City Park will also
be affected.
City Council is considering an ordinance to grant Columbia Gas an easement in the park so it can do the necessary work there. The ordinance’s first reading was March 2.
At the Feb. 17 council meeting, Fawcett said the city has “asked Columbia Gas to be mindful that May 1 through [the] end of September is very active for City Park, and we are hoping that they’ll black out that area as far as any type of active construction.”
The project should not be too much of a disruption, Kozak said. Instead of completely excavating pipelines to remove them, Columbia Gas will dig holes at the end of sections of pipeline, pull old pipeline out and pull new pipeline into place.
“[Directional boring is] much less invasive than if we had to do a traditional open cut,” Kozak said.
There are no plans for gas line work elsewhere in Bowling Green after this project’s completion. However, Columbia Gas is in its eighth year of a 25-year, $2 billion upgrade plan in Ohio, Kozak said. More of that money will likely be spent in Bowling Green.
There will be a public meeting with Columbia Gas March 26 at 9:30 a.m. at the Wood County District Public Library for residents who want to know more about the project, Fawcett said.
