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Community Corner

Keeping New Philadelphia, Ohio Residents Safe and Warm

Contractor to be honored at international CONEXPO-CON/AGG equipment exposition for making a significant difference for the community’s quality of life

Like any urban area, New Philadelphia, Ohio relies on dependable and affordable energy and minimal disruption over utility upgrades, to ensure a good quality of life for its residents. A major project to replace existing pipeline that brings natural gas to New Philadelphia homes is keeping residents free of worry over their energy needs today and into the future. The project is an effort of Dominion East Ohio and local contractor Mushrush Utility.

Natural gas utilities such as Dominion East Ohio maintain more than 1.2 million miles of underground pipes, including the pipeline that brings natural gas to the homes of New Philadelphia residents. As part of its maintenance efforts, Dominion began a major project in March 2013 to replace 13,896 feet of bare steel pipeline with plastic pipe in and around North Broadway Street in the downtown area. Replacing the pipe with coated steel or plastic pipeline will make it less susceptible to corrosion. Some of the bare metal pipeline in Dominion East Ohio’s system dates back to 1898, according to company officials.

Project Provides Safer, More Reliable Natural Gas Delivery

The New Philadelphia project was part of Dominion East’s $4 billion, 25-year project that will eventually replace more than 5,500 miles of the company’s 22,000-mile pipeline system, providing more than 1.2 million customers with safer, more reliable natural gas delivery.

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“We replaced all the main line and also replaced the service lines into approximately 221 homes,” explains Mushrush Utility owner Jason Mushrush. Dominion East Ohio assumed the responsibility of replacing the service lines to those homes, not only giving homeowners brand new service lines where needed, but also relieving them of the potential repair cost of up to $2,000.

By tackling the whole six-by-six-square-block area at once, Mushrush notes, Dominion won’t have to dig to repair leaky old gas lines, because it’s all new pipe. “That means residents will never be dug out. Their sidewalks won’t get ripped up; their driveways won’t get ripped up; their lawns won’t get ripped up,” Mushrush says. “But take away the fact that we’ll never have to inconvenience them, the main thing is that when these families tuck their kids in at night, they can go to sleep in peace knowing that their houses are safe.”

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Contractor Keeps Disruptions to a Minimum

Homeowners continue to use natural gas for increasingly varied purposes – from home heating and cooking to fueling fireplaces and air conditioners. As the demand for natural gas grows, so does the responsibility for safely distributing the fuel from the gas producing wells along a 2.4-million-mile underground pipeline system to homes.

Underground pipeline replacement can be a disruptive process. Mushrush worked hard to minimize the inconvenience. “We worked the job in stages, restoring as we worked. We wanted to get the mess cleaned up and get people’s lives back to normal,” Mushrush says. “We had about 80 percent of the site restored when the last bit of mainline and service was installed [in early June.]”

More than 50 percent of households use natural gas as their main heating source. Since 1988, the number of natural gas consumers in the U.S. has steadily grown, reaching nearly 66 million residential consumers in 2009.

Natural gas, notes the American Gas Association, is both the cleanest fossil fuel and a highly efficient form of energy. In many applications, it creates less carbon dioxide emissions than other fossil fuels. Natural gas sources are also predominantly domestic, with 84 percent of natural gas used by Americans coming from the U.S. and 99 percent from North America, making it an increasingly important option for reducing dependence on imported oil.

Job Done on Time, Impressive Results

Mushrush, which was founded 10 years ago and now has 39 employees and a fleet of 45 trucks, finished the job efficiently and on time. The project was completed on schedule, on June 14.

And, Dominion East Ohio and New Philadelphia officials were impressed with the work, and its lasting contribution to quality of life for New Philadelphia, Ohio residents.

For contributions to our quality of life, Mushrush Utility will be recognized at North America’s largest construction equipment trade show, CONEXPO-CON/AGG. A company representative and one guest will receive a free trip to the show in Las Vegas in March 2014.

At CONEXPO-CON/AGG, they will see all the innovative new equipment that will continue to support their work for better living brought to you by the men and women of the construction industries.

CONEXPO-CON/AGG is the international gathering place in North America for the construction industries. The event features exhibits of the latest technologies and innovations in equipment, products and services plus extensive industry-targeted education. The next CONEXPO-CON/AGG is March 4-8, 2014 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, USA. More than 100,000 attendees are expected. For more information about CONEXPO-CON/AGG, visit www.conexpoconagg.com.

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