Dominion East Ohio to replace pipelines in parts of West Akron this summer

Dominion East Ohio to replace pipelines in parts of West Akron this summer

By Betty Lin-Fisher

Beacon Journal business writer

New natural gas pipelines are coming to parts of West Akron this summer.

Dominion East Ohio is in the midst of a $4 billion, 25-year project to replace more than 5,500 miles of the company’s 22,000-mile pipeline system.

In West Akron along Merriman Road and Memorial Parkway and including some residential side streets, the utility will be investing $2.1 million to replace 16,000 feet of bare steel or field coated steel pipeline with corrosion-resistant plastic line.

The pipelines slated for replacement in that area were originally installed as early as 1926, the utility said.

Construction is set to begin June 6, with completion scheduled for Sept. 30, weather permitting.

During construction, the company or its contractors will need to turn off natural gas service to 130 customers for a short time, generally one to three hours, for replacing service lines, the utility said. The service lines connect the Dominion main line to the customer’s home or business. As part of the replacement program, Dominion will assume responsibility for the service line, which formerly had been a customer responsibility.

No road closures or detours are expected, though there will be some temporary lane closures.

These are the roads where pipelines will be replaced:

• Merriman Road between Memorial Parkway and Kingwood Drive.

• Memorial Parkway between North Portage Path and Merriman Road.

• Sunnyside Avenue between Ridgecrest Road and Merriman Road.

Roads also within the Portage Woods and Delaware Place condominium subdivisions will be affected, including Beechwood, Buckeye, Aspen, Dogwood, Maplewood, Hemlock and Delaware Place.

The company said it will attempt to notify affected customers 24 to 48 hours in advance to arrange access to homes. The company may need to perform additional work at customers’ homes or businesses, at no charge, including inspecting and testing any interior service lines; verifying the reading on an inside meter; replacing the service line, which delivers natural gas from the main line to the gas meter and changing the gas meter.

Dominion East Ohio personnel, or a qualified contractor working for Dominion East Ohio, will relight customer appliances once work is complete. If a problem is discovered with any of the house lines, which run from the gas meter to the natural gas appliances, it is the responsibility of the property owner to have the repairs made by a qualified plumber or contractor, the utility said.

Once the work is complete, restoration of sidewalks, driveways and approaches will begin as soon as weather permits Typical yard restoration is limited to grading and seeding.

Further details will be available online at www.dom.com, keyword: Pipeline Replacement, and by calling Dominion, toll-free, at 1-800-362-7557, between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. Customer also may send questions by email to Dominion’s Ohio Construction Support Department at OhioConstructionSupport@dom.com.

Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her @blinfisherABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/BettyLinFisherABJ and see all her stories at www.ohio.com/betty.