Gas company to replace pipelines; electric provider installing new transmission lines
MOUNT VERNON, Aug. 17, 2022 – Columbia Gas has announced plans to install 11,000 feet of new plastic pipe on the west side of Mount Vernon beginning late this month. About 160 residences in the area, just west of the Public Square, will be impacted by the project. The utility has scheduled a virtual meeting to address residents’ questions and concerns.
Meanwhile, AEP has released a timeline for its Mount Vernon Transmission Line Rebuild Project, which will include the installation of new transmission lines and the upgrading of substations and a switch. That work, also on the west side of the City and in Clinton Township, will begin next spring.
The new gas pipelines, part of the Columbia Gas Mechanic Replacement Project, will replace the main natural gas line and service lines connecting homes and businesses to the Columbia Gas system. The utility will schedule appointments with property owners to connect the new service lines. The project may entail some evening and weekend work by the utility’s contractor, Mid-Ohio Pipeline.
The project’s footprint is bordered by the alleys between West High and West Chestnut streets on the north, South Mulberry Street on the east, between West Ohio Street and Phillips Drive on the south and Harrison Street on the west. The bulk of the work will occur on West High, West Vine and West Gambier streets.
Columbia Gas noted that the pipeline will cause some short-term disruptions to the neighborhood, from occasional gas outages of two to four hours to the digging up of yards, sidewalks and streets. Indoor gas meters will also be relocated as part of the project. The utility stressed that workers will repair or replace any sidewalks, driveways and landscaping disturbed by the work.
“Once the main line is in and put into service, we’ll follow up with service line replacements for individual homes. These take about two to four hours per property and include a brief service disconnection,” Benjamin Cutler of Columbia Gas said in a press release. “Indoor meters will be relocated outside as well. Crews will reach out to schedule an appointment with each property owner for the shut-off, re-light and meter relocation if necessary.”
Columbia Gas asks that residents contact Cutler at 216-215-4103 to share information about buried sprinkler or septic systems, invisible fences or cisterns, or to discuss other concerns about the pipeline project.
Residents can also attend a virtual meeting on the project on Tuesday, Aug. 23, at 5:30 p.m. by visiting https://bit/ly/3w29yjJ, or calling 213-514-7050, with an access code of 524 212 486#.
For more information on the project, visit https://www.columbiagasohio.com/services/work-in-your-neighborhood/replacement-projects. For a short video explaining the process, visit vimeo.com/481327238.
AEP’s Mount Vernon Transmission Line Rebuild Project involves the following:
- Rebuilding about four miles of 69-kilovolt (kV) transmission line between the West Mount Vernon substation off Pleasant Valley Road, the Pittsburgh Avenue substation off Pittsburgh Avenue and the Mount Vernon substation off Roundhouse Lane.
- Removing a half-mile of 69-kV transmission line between Arch Avenue and the North Mount Vernon substation off Garden Alley.
- Upgrading the West Mount Vernon, Pittsburgh Avenue and Mount Vernon substations.
- Upgrading the South Mount Vernon switch off Terrace Avenue.
The AEP project will replace 1950s-era equipment, reducing the need for frequent maintenance and speeding recovery of service when outages occur. Crews are expected to begin construction in spring 2023, finishing over the summer.
Field survey work is scheduled to start immediately and continue through the fall, which may require crews to pace stakes and ribbon within AEP’s easement on private property.
For more information about the AEP project, residents may contact Bill Piko of Property ROW, AEP’s right-of-way representative on this project, at 304-280-0096 or via email at bpiko@propertyrow.com.