Kern River Pipeline work closes freeway lanes

Kern River Pipeline company has been working on this area quite a long time.  See my earlier post, Kern River Pipeline Problems when part of the frontage road was damaged and closed last November.  This is a major natural gas pipeline that runs very near homes in my community.  Too near, if you ask me.

All I know is that Kern River had approval to increase the capacity of its pipeline.  I assume this ongoing construction work may be related to that.  But there seems to be no way of getting more details about what is going on.  Every day a highway patrolman is parked at the site with emergency lights on to warn drivers to slow down on the busy frontage road.  Sometimes a lane is closed.  I wonder what the work is they are doing, what the risks are, why it's taking so long, and who is paying for highway patrol presence. 

Today, part of the freeway was undermined and lanes again had to be closed.

KSL.com

The Utah Department of Transportation originally closed two lanes between the US-89 off-ramp and the I-215 on-ramp. Crews drilling under the interstate for a natural gas pipeline caused holes in the roadway's supporting base. So Sunday night UDOT closed the lanes to fix the problem. Crews also closed parts of Beck Street for the same reason. They have opened one lane on northbound I-15, but will keep one closed until at least 3 p.m.

 UPDATE:
An updated news story tells us that apparently tunneling under the freeway has resulted in collapses.  What kind of operation is this?   Does this inspire confidence?  So it does sound like they are replacing existing pipe with highter capacity pipe.  But it seems we should be paying attention to the poor quality of the work being performed here.  A natural gas pipeline that crosses a fault line in six places close to populations should be of great concern to our local governments.  I see little response to this comedy of errors from my community or others.  The highway department is going to suspend the permit to drill, and that's something.

By the way, note to the reporter: North Salt Lake is not Ogden, not even close -- but Salt Lakers are always pretty vague on anything north of the county line.  Come on KSL --- Ogden?

Kern River Pipeline Problem?

What's wrong with this story?

Portion of US-89 closed through Monday

NORTH SALT LAKE -- UDOT is closing a portion of Highway 89 over the weekend to work on repairs.

The closure will affect the northbound stretch of highway between the Beck Street ramp in North Salt Lake and Eagle Ridge Drive. UDOT says the closure comes after word that maintenance work on the Kern River natural gas pipeline in the area may have weakened the roadway subsurface.  UDOT expects to reopen the road by 6 a.m. Monday.  Drivers are advised to take Interstate 15 to 2600 South to avoid the closure. 

 Something tells me there's more to this story than we see here.  What maintenance?  How exactly did it undermine the road?

Let's remember what we're talking about here.  The Kern River pipeline is a natural gas pipeline that received special permission to cut through the foothills above Bountiful and run along the south end of North Salt Lake to save 20 miles on its way to California, in so doing crossing the Wasatch Fault line 6 times and coming within 50 yards of residences in North Salt Lake.  The company was granted and recently put into place an increase of delivery from 1200 psi to 1333 psi. 

Since they aren't telling us the whole story, we can only read between the lines.  Something went wrong.  Something unexpected happened.  But what?

Here in North Salt Lake, we were assured when the pipeline was originally built that it was extremely safe and not a threat to anyone.  I didn't buy it then and I don't buy it now.  Our representative at the time, Jim Hansen, was silent and refused to become involved -- I think because he thought it might stain his anti-environment/pro big oil reputation.  But that's just my thinking.  Despite huge public opposition, the pipeline easily won the government approval it needed.

The pipeline right-of-way is easily visible as a long straight scar across the mountains and foothills of Bountiful and North Salt Lake going south, and then turning west and running past the site of the defunct gravel pit currently being developed commercially.  Looking at Google maps, it appears that houses may be even closer now with more recent construction.

I'd like to know more facts about this latest incident.

Also see an update to this post here. http://slcblues.blogspot.com/2011/02/kern-river-pipeline-work-closes-freeway.html

More Snow, October 12, 2008

UPDATE: The news reports that North Salt Lake got eight inches of snow out of this storm.
Sunrise Sunday morning, Oct 12, 2008. A couple of inches overnight. Always looks deepest on the patio furniture.
Heavy wet snow weighing down the branches with unfallen leaves.
More snow predicted today. Looks threatening to the north. Weatherman says Davis County is getting lake effect. Snow plow has been up the street twice this morning. Normally I'd be out clearing the drive and walks, but this will melt fast.

I'm settling in with my coffee, crossword, and the Sunday morning news programs.

First Snow - Oct 11, 2008

Just a powder sugar dusting this afternoon, but piling up a bit now the sun is down and temps are near freezing. Forecast says a high of 38 tomorrow, but back up to the 70s next weekend! Woo!

Legacy Parkway - a pretty great drive

Like thousands of my fellow Utahns, I have been eagerly anticipating the opening of the Legacy Parkway. I took the opportunity of driving it twice when returning from Layton this weekend. I give it an A grade. It's a really pleasant drive. Here's what I like.

1. The pavement is new, smooth, and quiet
2. Traffic is just a little slower at 55 MPH, a more relaxed drive. The UHP was patroling for speeders and drivers for the most part were probably keeping it under 65. No aggressive drivers.
3. You are surrounded by fields, you feel like you are driving out in the country instead of a concrete high speed freeway.
4. No concrete "sound" walls blocking views of the mountains.
5. The nature trails running alongside the parkway are occupied by numerous walkers, joggers, bikers.
6. I discovered some new wetlands that are accessible by car
7. The overpasses are aesthetically designed for beauty as well as function.
8. The curving road truly does give you interesting views and makes it kind of fun to drive. It would be fun to drive fast on those curves, I'll admit, but I do like that 55 MPH limit.

There are only a couple of things I don't like:

1. There are lots of small animals getting hit by cars. Hopefully, the wildlife will adapt to the parkway.
2. There is no entrance or exit to North Salt Lake. Somehow I missed that little important fact during the construction. Since the parkway begins in NSL, I had just assumed we would be the first on-ramp from the south. I have to use 500 South in Bountiful. Not as convenient as I would have liked.

I have to compliment our state for this new parkway. If we must build more freeways to carry thousands of more drivers through sensitive environments, this is an example of a good compromise. And it's a pleasure for a driver.