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‘Major Public Safety Issue’ Gas Leaking Under Hwy 29
January 25, 2011
Natural gas is leaking under Highway 29 in Century, and the town is seeking about $1.3 million to eliminate what the town is calling a “major public safety issue”.
“We need to get this (gas) line out from under the highway,” Mayor Freddie McCall told the town’s council Monday night. He said the leak in the line owned by the town is not constant — sometimes inspectors are unable to find it. But the Florida Public Service Commission has told the town that progress must be made toward eliminating the problem by the end of the year. The exact location of the leak or leaks has not been determined.
About 6,515 feet of four-inch steel natural gas line was buried beneath the southbound lanes of Highway 29 when the road was widened. Now, 45 years since the pipe was put into the ground, the town believes the steel is corroding and leaking.
Dale Long, the town’s engineer, has recommended that the town seek a $1.3 million low-interest USDA Rural Development loan to construct new natural gas lines on both sides of Highway, abandoning the decades-old leaking pipe. By installing as lines on both sides of the highway, it would eliminate the need to bore under the highway for a new service install.
Consultant Debbie Nickles said the town is not eligible for grants for the project since the town’s gas department is a for-profit entity.
At their Monday night meeting, the council approved a resolution authorizing the mayor to submit a USDA loan application on the town’s behalf to obtain the funds necessary to install the new gas lines.
The gas line is buried under southbound Highway 29 from about McCurdy Street (near Bondurant Lumber) to just south of West Highway 4 (near the courthouse).
Pictured: A portion of Highway 29 in Century. Decades-old natural gas line is buried under the southbound lanes on the left and is leaking somewhere between this location and West Highway 4, over a mile away. Pictured inset: Century Mayor Freddie McCall motions toward Highway 29 just outside the Century Town Hall. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
30 Responses to “‘Major Public Safety Issue’ Gas Leaking Under Hwy 29”
I always agree when you’re right.
Kudos to you David for being man enough to agree with me and admit it in public.Well almost publc ….FINALY!!!! LOL!!
This sounds very dangerous, I hope and pray that they get this fixed sooner than later. We surel don’t need any outraged explosions.
This sounds a little bit like cancer….it will not fix itself. Somebody needs to start working on a solution pretty darn quick. Pardon me while I listen to my Commander In Chief at the State of the Union Speech…..Uh Oh!
I’m not very sure at all, but I believe that a portion of 29, was widened to 4 lanes from Burger King to near the courthouse in the mid 1970’s and then in the mid 1980’s it was widened from the courthouse to just south of Century, and in the late 80’s from near Century to McDavid near 164. I’m pretty sure about the part from the courthouse to just south of Century. The present road is lower in some places than the old 2 lane road, they lower it about 5 feet where I lived. The old road was left in between the lower outer lanes, until they were paved and traffic shifted onto the new lanes and the old road was then dug up. You had to turn off the higher old road, go down to the lower outer lanes then up to your driveway, which they didn’t maintain very well. I had just bought a brand new pickup truck, less than a 100 miles on it, started up my driveway during a rain, lost traction slid back into the higher old road bending the bumper. I called the company doing the work to speak to the owner and was told, “he is at the club.” I said, “that’s ok, I have his home number, (I did) I’ll call him about 2 AM in the morning he should be home.” Suddenly, they saw him pulling into the office parking lot.
Will it blow up? possibly – did you see what happened in Philadelphia last week?
the leak isn’t constant. – it probably isn’t detectable until the line is pressured up beyond a certain pressure
In November 1975, I opened a business in a building next to where Century Marine is now and as soon as I opened, the contractor began digging up the shoulder of the road right along there for the widening of the highway. There was a deep ditch out front that I thought they were putting gas lines in. Maybe not.
Anyway when they filled it in, it rained for several days and no one could get to the business. My timing was bad, but maybe that will give y’all a frame of reference.
I had a sign in the front window that said “In all things, give thanks.” Some of the construction crew came in one day and asked me if I really believed that. And I did – and I do.
Oh, wow, David, thank you for bringing back a fun memory. I had forgotten all about Elena and the horrible traffic jam. I worked at IGA back then and when I got off work (Marce decided to let us go home) we couldn’t leave the parking lot! None of the cars would let us out. I guess they thought that a few cars would keep them far enough behind to make a difference. Anyway, my friends and I had an impromptu Hurricane Party sitting on the side of Hwy 29 in the IGA parking lot. I laughed so hard that day my sides ached. Thanks for bringing back some good times.
“David,
Do you know exactly when it was all done?”
I remember US 29 was 4 laned to just south of Watson’s store then 2 lane to Century up until Hurricane Elena back in 1985 showed what a bottleneck it was. (Not that it mattered because 113 was 2 laned to I-65 anyway.) I fondly remember directing merging traffic and several motorists ignoring and nearly killing several members of the McDavid VFD. It seemed some of the motorists thought if the hurricane had 110 mile per hour winds, the only way to stay ahead of it was to match speeds.
Good times.
Sorry I can’t help you more.
David the unhelpful and regretful
there are several things that can effect the citys ability to find the exact location of the leak. 1 depending on the type of gas meter they are using and how often it has been calibrated and rather it is a free flow meter, pump style or a flame pack and the experience level of the worker using it. 2 not knowing the depth of the pipe, gas will follow the route of least resistance and its not always in a straight line, the gas could follow a sewer main or water pipe several hundred feet before it finally surfaces. 3 weather conditions play a big roll in finding where leaks are, if the ground is wet it would make it harder for a small leak to make its way to the surface, as well as tring to find a leak on a windy day, or a day that is very humid or the barametric pressure is high .4 like someone said before, not knowing the line pressure and how consistant it is makes a big difference to trying to find it, if they line pressure is low due either to customer usage or line regulation it could make it harder to find as well. Being the line was laid 45 yrs ago makes a big difference, back then there were not as many regulations reguarding pipeline intstalation and corrosion control. I have been on other projects locally where we uncovers older pipes that either hadnt had any coating applied at all or it had rotted off years ago. the best idea is to replace the old pipe and save your money on the pigging operation and put it toward a new and improved pipe. this video is a little extreme compared to what we are talking about but maybe it will make you think about what could happen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSCz-35M9hA
Just wandering: Is there a “shelf life” on gas lines? Is it feaseable to replace those lines after a certain number of years? It”s called preventive maintence I believe.
Smart pigs work very well but if the pipe has been in the ground that long it probably does need replacing. A pig can give the location but will that really solve the problem? I think not because sooner or later the rest of the pipe will leak also. Just my 6 bits on the matter. LOL! If anybody remembers what 6 bits means.
Good job, William. I guess my reading comprehension needs a little work too, lol, since I didn’t notice the distinction until you said that.
And I know that Hwy 29 was still a 2 lane in Bogia when I was little because my grandparents had to move out of the house they lived in because it was too close. I was about 3 or 4 then. I remember the part through Molino being 2 lane also and the police used to sit between the hills between Fran’s Diner and the forestry tower to catch the speeders coming over the hills. I believe that was 4 laned in the mid 80s because I think it was when I had just started driving.
About the leak though, it does seem strange that it would only leak sometimes although I do have a water leak that only leaks sometimes but that’s from the kitchen faucet. Sometimes it leaks, sometimes it doesn’t.
For those discussing how long Hwy 29 has been four-laned, keep in mind the 45 years is how long the pipe has been in the ground. It was buried alongside the two-lane highway for some number of years before it was widened. The story does not say the pipe has been under the highway for 45 years.
The 4 lane was already there in the ’80s, Terri. It was, I believe, a little south of Barney Cash’s when it became a 2 lane until just north of Watson’s. That part was 4 laned in the late ’80s because I was just out of high school.
I still don’t think it’s been 45 years though because I seem to remember when I was really small, so early 70s, that it was still a 2 lane in front of IGA and Piggly Wiggly. I may be wrong though.
David,
Do you know exactly when it was all done?
REGARDING:
“If you have a water leak it is constant unless the water is turned off, an air leak is the same way, so is a gas leak. It leaks until you fix it, but to stop leaking or intermittently leak??? Can that be? David Green enlighten us, cause I now you know the true facts about leaks”
You know I hate to agree with you, but I can’t disagree with you here. It makes no sense to me if the leak is from a hole in the pipe.
The only way right off hand I can think of would be if gas pressure were so low that pressure of a column of water were greater than internal pressure. That would stop leaks when water was high, allow them when water was low.
I never dealt with gas pipelines, though so don’t know pressure under discussion.
I can imagine a malfunctioning valve with intermittent problems. (I didn’t know how to spell intermittent until I worked in the oil field. Something which never works is easy to find. Something which works sometimes is hard to chase down.)
Gas detectors should be able to narrow down the source of the leakage. There are some which use lasers and should do a quick, sweet job. Methane is lighter than air so it would tend to quickly disperse unless confined in a tight building (such as how McCurdy’s Dairy Bar exploded, but that was arson and a cut gas line)
Pigs make the most sense to me.
Guessing is fun but gas ain’t cheap and we don‘t want to have to make up the losses on our bills.
David considering the end of Century
The leak is not constant???Sometimes the inspectors cannot find it??? I don’t know much about inspectors,but I do know a little about leaks.At least I think I know,if it is a leak it leaks right?If you have a water leak it is constant unless the water is turned off,an air leak is the same way,so is a gas leak.It leaks until you fix it,but to stop leaking or intermintantly leak???Canthat be?David Green enlighten us,cause I now you know the true facts about leaks. If this is not the case someone please enlighten me.And how do we know it is leaking? I don’t think it has been 45 years since the pipe was buried under highway 29.I seem to recal it being late 1980″s?Before the city borrows money,lets find out if the pig in the poke really is there.Makes sense to me.An independent second opinion is in order here.The Public Sewrvice Commisssion isn’t high on my list of people to listen to.What is their agenda in all of this?
REGARDING:
“How can someone read this and then ask who owns it”
‘Tain’t hard.
Sometimes we skim the article and don’t notice all the fine details.
Sometimes we lose our place when moving to the next line.
David the understanding
If gas accumulates in an eroded pocket under the highway and then lightning strikes the area……boom ? Unlikely, I suppose, but it must be considered. I think I’ll drive another route when it rains. I don’t want to be passing Burger King and suddenly find myself and my car in Molino.
Smart Pigs are available with cameras attached which can give operators a view of the inside of the pipe. They can also be equipped with Ultra Sonic devices which can give a chart of wall thickness. This is a relatively inexpensive way of finding the leak or leaks. But…. if this is 45 year old carbon steel pipe…better figure on replacing it all while we are at it….
I’ve seen what a gas leak can do when its not fixed…it levels homes.
A good reason to keep cigarette/cigar butts in your cars and not flip them out the window. “KEEP CENTURY BEAUTIFUL”( tongue in cheek)
The third line of the article plainly states ” He said the leak in the line owned by the town is not constant “. How can someone read this and then ask who owns it?
o yeah how dangerous is this anyway?? can hwy 29 just explode????? OMG
does the leak affect businesses and residents on hwy 29 only, or does if affect the town of century as a whole?? if it is as a whole then maybe that can explain why my gas bill has been so high. I’m not saying this to try to get out of paying a high gass bill, but it is honestly the truth. I have been to the town of century several times about my bill and the best answer i got is they go off the reading on the meter. ur really stuck between an rock and a hard sopt cause either u pay the high billa to keep service or dont pay and get disconnected.
>>Why not make the owner of the pipeline pay for the repairs? Unless, of course, if the town of Century owns the line…
It is the town’s own gas system. They own the line.
Why not make the owner of the pipeline pay for the repairs? Unless, of course, if the town of Century owns the line…
it is possible to run a pig with microphones to listen for sound of gas escaping, but if entire line is about to blow….
David considering fireballs
Thanks Bill for ‘lighting a fire’ under this story…
(jk)