UGI to replace 63 miles of natural gas mains, including sites in Lehigh, Northampton counties

UGI intends to replace at least 8.4 miles of main in Allentown. A February 2011 gas explosion in the city that killed five people was blamed on a cracked cast-iron main.

View full size UGI workers make repairs on a natural gas main in Bethlehem in this August 2010 file photo. Express-Times File Photo | MATT SMITH  

The utility is targeting approximately 63 miles of cast-iron and bare-steel mains for replacement with contemporary materials such as high-density plastic or coated steel, according to an official.

UGI intends to replace at least 8.4 miles of main in Allentown, utility spokesman Joseph Swope said. A February 2011 gas explosion in the city killed five people; the deadly blast was blamed on a cracked cast-iron main.

Another 2.9 miles of main will be replaced in Bethlehem, along with 1.4 miles in Easton, Swope said. Main replacements also are planned in Bangor, Palmer Township, Wilson Borough and elsewhere in Lehigh and Northampton counties, he said.

Residents and municipal officials in communities where replacement projects are scheduled will be notified in advance, a news release says. UGI workers may need to access customers' homes during the projects, which are expected to cause traffic and parking congestion in some areas.

The replacement schedule is dictated by risk assessment and other factors, the release says.

"Safety is always UGI's first priority," utility President and CEO Robert F. Beard said. "These infrastructure projects continue our commitment to ensure our system provides safe, reliable service for our customers."

Pressure reinforcements to accommodate system growth, service line and meter upgrades, routine station work and other capital projects will complement the main replacement work, the release says.

UGI over the next 30 years expects to spend $1.2 billion replacing pipelines made of aging materials, the release says. Of the utility's 12,000 miles of pipeline, more than 85 percent are made from contemporary materials, the release says.

Here are some of the upcoming gas main replacement projects that involve at least a quarter mile of pipeline:

Allentown

• 1800 – 2000 blocks of Delaware Avenue – 1,800 feet
• 800 block of Jackson Street – 1,380 feet
• 1900 – 2200 blocks of Union Boulevard – 1,585 feet
• 1600 – 1700 blocks of Chew Street – 1,500 feet
• 1100 – 1200 blocks of North 15th Street – 3,496 feet

• 700 block of Walnut Street – 5,000 feet

• 400 block of East Garrison Street – 1,768 feet

• 100 block of Pennsylvania Avenue – 3,320 feet

• 3900 – 4000 blocks of Freemansburg Avenue – 2,765 feet

• 1800 – 2400 blocks of Freemansburg Avenue – 4,400 feet