Peoples Gas is installing about 3,000 feet of new gas pipelines in Arnold along Drey Street, Alcoa Drive and Dunn Alley, but not everyone is happy about the project's timing.
Estimated to cost as much as $200,000, the job should be completed by April 24, weather permitting, according to Barry Kukovich, a Peoples Gas spokesman.
A suspected gas leak along Alcoa Drive reported on March 23 initiated the need for tests and new lines, he said.
The work area passes by more than 30 homes, and the road damage it's causing isn't sitting well with some Arnold officials.
About a year and a half ago, the length of Drey Street was repaved with community development grants totaling just under $200,000, according to Thomas Dunn, Arnold's community development director.
“The city properly communicated that we were doing this street,” Dunn said. “The utility companies were aware, and the time to deal with it was before we did the reconstruction of the street.”
Mayor Larry Milito called it “appalling.”
“We will probably wait to see how well they fix it when they are done,'” the mayor said. “They're likely going to patch it, and we react accordingly to how well they fix it.”
Kukovich said that it's the gas company's standard practice “to repair any street back to its condition before the work.”
2 homes evacuated
He added that the timing of the gas project was “unfortunate.”
The project occurred now, Kukovich said, because a high level of natural gas was detected at four buildings along Alcoa Drive. They included the Arnold No. 2 firemen's social club and three homes, one of which is vacant, according to Kukovich.
After investigating, the gas company was concerned that “there was a possibility of a dangerous level of gas building up,” he said.
“In an emergency situation, we must respond and do what we need to do for public safety.”
Residents of two homes along the street were asked to vacate their homes while the company replaced the lines, according to Kukovich.
An Alcoa Drive resident, Jolene DelGrosso, said that she understood the urgency of the project and was concerned about a gas leak on her street, which is closed at Drey Street.
“I hope that they clean up this mess when they are done,” DelGrosso said.
She commended the gas company workers with being helpful in finding a parking space for her car.
But DelGrosso said that she didn't receive notification of the project.
Kukovich said that the gas company oftentimes will leave door hangers announcing a new project to residents. “But this involved a gas leak, and we responded immediately.”
And the fireman's social club has been closed for two weeks and is losing money, according to Arnold Councilman Anthony “Butch” Sgalio, who is the president of Arnold's Volunteer Engine Company No. 2.
“The gas company is doing everything they can to get this corrected,” he said. “There were just high (gas) readings in those buildings on Alcoa Drive, and they feel it's not safe to have the club open.”
Aging lines being replaced
The gas company is paying one of those Alcoa Drive residents to stay in a hotel until the project is completed next week.
“Now when we monitor those homes three times a day, we're picking up no (gas) levels at this point,” Kukovich said. “We're being super safe.”
He said that Peoples believe it has found the leak but is replacing the entire aging feeder system in the area for “safety sake for today and the future.”
As the gas company continues to replace lines, residents' service shouldn't be disrupted, he said.
However, the company will be testing residential lines to the homes and if a leak is detected, homeowners will have to replace their lines, he said.
“It's a bonus for homeowners,” Kukovich said, “because if we find a leak, we've headed off a problem.”
Mary Ann Thomas is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-226-4691 or mthomas@tribweb.com.
