by Matt Hughes
 |
This gas line on Caney Creek outside of
Wheatcroft is right in the path of any
debris that floats down stream. |
J-E News Editor
The Clay city council was in session on Tuesday night. On the agenda was the future of a gas line between the city of Clay and Wheatcroft.
Last month city employee Paul Stone identified the line as a problem spot for Clay’s gas service. The line crosses a creek about four foot from the creek bed and is at risk of being struck by debris during flooding.
Stone estimated it would cost around $50,000 to do a directional bore and run the line beneath the creek. Cheaper options included elevating the pipe out of flood danger, or simply adding a shutoff valve to the existing line.
“My problem with going up and over is that you’re still in a hazardous location,” Stone told the council. “You’d still have to patrol it. If it’s underground, it’s in there and you don’t have to worry about it.”
Clay shares the line with Sturgis, in Union County. The cities would be responsible for sharing the cost of repairs 50/50. Sturgis public works employees Jeff Wilson and Chase Robertson were on hand to offer some opinions from the Sturgis council.
“We just want to do right with it,” Mayor Rick Householder told the representatives of Sturgis.
“We really didn’t get a clear response at the Sturgis meeting,” said Jeff Wilson. “We wanted to see what you guys thought and work with you to get this solved.”
Stone told the council that he had attempted to get specific estimates on their options, but that all of the contractors he spoke with wanted to see engineered drawings before they would make a quote.
“I guess the first thing we need to do is find an engineer and find out how much it will cost to get drawings,” Householder said.
Pete Brown, an independent contractor who does most of Clay’s welding work, told the council that an elevated structure would probably need to be 10 to 12 feet tall to be above flood level.
