A hefty natural gas pipeline replacement program could cause temporary downtown traffic delays, but in the long run will reduce utility operating costs, officials say.
Six downtown streets that cover about 10 miles are facing utility repairs for the remainder of the year, and are part of a plan spanning to 2019 that will replace the city's natural gas piping, Larry Buie, region manager for Chattanooga Gas Co., said.
The pipeline replacement for the six areas to be complete this year will cost nearly $5 million, he said.
"What we're attempting to do is completely redo all the old cast-iron bare steel piping and have a system for the downtown area and the Chattanooga Gas system that has a higher integrity when it comes to pressure," Buie said. "It will lower overall operating costs because then we can take the system to a standard set pressure rather than a varying pressure. Putting this in place will definitely aid us in getting to that point."
Buie said though steps have been taken to reduce the effects on traffic, some delays are inevitable. Contractors are using boring rigs that drill down into the ground, rather than open up large sections, in an effort to reduce traffic disruption.
"When you go through and have to open-cut huge parts of streets and sidewalks, that really wreaks havoc on traffic flow," he said. "We're digging small pilot holes in our areas of construction and boring the vast majority of pipe in place to be really sensitive to the disruption downtown. You're going to have some, but we're trying to minimize that."
City Traffic Engineer John Van Winkle said so far this year, the work hasn't slowed traffic much in the affected areas. He said unless the work is at a major intersection, the effects are typically small.
"The overall scale of the project may be large, but specific street-by-street impacts are only made if crossing major arterial streets or intersections," Van Winkle said. "I think the impacts can be kept to a reasonable degree."