A natural gas pipeline in Lathrop is about to get a major upgrade.
On Monday the Lathrop City Council heard a presentation from PG&E Local Government Relations Representative Dylan George that outlined how the company, in its commitment to customers to provide the most safe and reliable service possible, will be replacing nearly 2,000 feet of aging distribution pipe that carries gas from transmission lines to local homes.
According to a PowerPoint prepared by George, the project will call for the deactivation of 1,405 feet of 3-inch distribution pipe and 500-feet of 2-inch distribution pipe – both of which are made of a type of plastic. They will also install 1,605 feet of 4-inch pipe and 365 feet of 2-inch pipe to replace the aging infrastructure.
A total of 22 service lines will be retired once removal and replacement are complete, and all lines are set to be thoroughly tested and serviced before being put back into active use.
Lathrop isn’t the only city getting an overhaul by Northern California’s largest natural gas provider.
According to the presentation, PG&E has more than 42,000 miles of distribution pipelines scattered across its wide and expansive service territory, and those that need it are being overhauled and brought up to the highest safety standards in the business.
And they’re using state-of-the-art tools and techniques to prevent disaster from happening.
Next month the provider will roll its Picarro Leak Detection unit that is equipped with technology that is 1,000 times more sensitive than traditional methods to spot possible problems before they become critical. With a work crew that follows closely behind during the late night hours, leaks that are detected are fixed immediately.
The work, which will replace vintage pipelines from the 1970s, will begin at the tie-in point on Louise Avenue and extend down the length of Warfield Avenue, snaking east and then heading back north to the culmination at Lathrop Road.
While the work will interrupt traffic patterns on Louise Avenue for as long as two weeks, only a single lane will be closed to allow for traffic to pass through.
Construction is to begin in early May when camera inspections are carried out on the pipelines, and work along Warfield Road will begin in mid-May. By the middle of June work will progress to Louise Avenue, and the pipeline will tied in by early July. Pavement restoration will be completed shortly after that work is completed.
Detour routes will be clearly posted for those along Warfield that will be impacted by the work.