Despite a rainy construction season, natural gas line replacement projects undertaken by AltaGas in Drumheller are proceeding on schedule.
All summer, crews have been on the ground replacing older metal gas line infrastructure with modern poly lines. President of AltaGas Greg Johnston explains that it has been a busy summer in the valley.
“We are still on track for an October completion,” he says. “There five projects going on in Drumheller right now.”
Johnston explains that Area 1: North of 3rd Ave East and East of 1st Street, Area 2: Between 2nd Street East and 3rd Street East and North of Railway Ave West and Area 4: Between 9th Street Northwest and 5th Street West and North of 3rd Ave West are complete with the exception of clean up and addressing deficiencies.
Area 3: Between 3rd Street Southwest and 1st Street Southwest and between 8th Ave Southwest and Railway Ave West slated to be completed in mid-September. Area 5 Railway Ave East and Riverside Ave East and between 3rd Ave East and 10th Ave East is slated for the end of October.
“It has to be done, and you have to try and do it in measured amounts. We have been working with the town to identify where they are doing paving and we know what roads we can work on what time periods,” he said. “As much as I would like to snap my fingers and have it all done in one year, we would have the whole town torn apart.”
“We have been at it in Drumheller for a number of years, but I think this year wraps it up.”
Johnston says the project is simply to replace old and aging infrastructure that dates back to the 1950s. AltaGas is not alone in needing to complete these kinds of projects.
‘It’s not just natural gas infrastructure either. This is something municipalities face challenges with water and sewer lines, sidewalk and roads, they all age. For the most part gas and sewer and water line go unnoticed and no one worries much about them until they have to be replaced or repaired. We have done similar work in most of the communities we serve throughout the province.”
