UE WORKS TO REPLACE NATURAL GAS LOOP LINE

A project started last year by Union Electric Co. to replace all of its cast-iron natural-gas-main distribution system in Cape Girardeau with more durable plastic mains is continuing this summer.

Work is now going on in the south part of the city, in the alley between South Sprigg and South Ellis, from Good Hope to Hackberry. Because of the construction, east-west streets between Ellis and Sprigg have been closed for one or two days as the main is installed southward toward Hackberry.

Ralph Maxton, district engineer for the utility's gas department, explained the Missouri Public Service Commission has ordered all utility companies that supply natural gas to eliminate cast-iron gas mains in their systems.

"The PSC left it up to the individual utilities to establish their own priorities, so we decided to begin replacing our cast-iron gas main that loops around the city," said Maxton. "Right now the loop is a 50-pound-per-square-inch cast-iron gas main."

Maxton said the cast-iron main begins at UE's Hackberry Street regulator station, where the natural gas pipeline from the Texas Eastern Transmission Co. at Grays Point comes into Cape Girardeau.

From Hackberry, the line goes northward in the alley between Ellis and Sprigg, then along Sprigg to Bertling, where it turns west to Perryville Road. It the goes along Perryville Road toward Alma Schrader School. From there it loops southward through the west end of town to another regulator station on Commercial Street near Rust Avenue.

Maxton said low-pressure feed lines that tap into the loop deliver the gas to smaller, 15 psi distribution lines that supply gas to most of UE's commercial gas customers and all of its residential gas customers.

Maxton said the conversion to plastic mains began last year when UE's gas department crews replaced a 4-inch, cast-iron main along Good Hope from Sheridan to South Sprigg.

"That portion of the project was completed about two weeks ago," said Maxton. "As soon as the gas main has been pressure tested, the line will be activated, sometime this fall. At that time the old, 4-inch cast-iron main on Good Hope, and a 6-inch cast-iron main on William Street will be abandoned."

Maxton said the next phase of the project began in late July when a contractor for UE, Gas Distribution Contractors Inc. of Aurora, began laying 12-inch plastic gas mains in the alley between South Sprigg and South Ellis, from Good Hope southward to the UE gas regulator station on Hackberry.

After reaching the Hackberry regulator station, Maxton said the 12-inch plastic gas main will continue westward two blocks, to the UE peak shaving plant on Beaudean Lane.

During unusually cold weather, when the demand for natural gas is high and the supply is reduced by Texas Eastern, UE mixes propane gas stored in large tanks at the Beaudean Lane plant with reduced quantities of natural gas. The mixture is then pumped through the loop line to UE's gas customers in Cape Girardeau.

"With a larger 12-inch main we'll be able to shove more of the mixed gas through the system when the demand is high," Maxton explained. "At the same time, we're also planning for the future growth of the northwest part of the city."

After completing the 12-inch line to the peak shaving plant, Maxton said work will stop until next spring. "We do not want any of our gas mains off-line for even a short time period during the winter because of the normal increased demand for gas and the possibility of a cold snap that would raise the demand for gas even higher," he explained.

When work resumes next year, Maxton said the installation of 8-inch plastic gas main will start from near South Sprigg and Good Hope and extend northward along Sprigg to Bertling Street, then toward the northwest part of the city.

Maxton said the plastic gas main meets all PSC requirements.

"The best thing about plastic pipe is that it doesn't corrode in the ground like cast iron or steel," he said. "We've been using plastic pipe in Cape since the early 1970s, when we started converting our cast-iron water mains over to plastic. We've had absolutely no problems with the plastic mains since they were installed."