Columbia Gas of Ohio plans to construct new natural gas pipeline in Hinckley

HINCKLEY TWP. — Columbia Gas of Ohio is working to construct a new natural gas pipeline in Hinckley Township in the coming months in order to continue to serve more than 2,000 customers in the surrounding area. Columbia Gas Public Affairs Manager Ben Cutler said the company works by taking gas from an upstream supplier and delivering it to residents and businesses. The current supplier's line for the area, which services parts of Brunswick, Hinckley and North Royalton, will be retired. "Once they change it, we no longer have access to use it for our system," he said. "That's why we have to construct a new system with a different upstream supplier." Therefore, a new natural gas main line is planned to be constructed in the southbound lane of West 130th St. between Boston Road and Marland Drive. Cutler said a point of delivery station will be put on Marland Drive, and a district regulator station, which reduces the pressure of the natural gas, will be built on Crestview Drive. "We're laying most of this new line system in the road," he said. "While there definitely will be some impact when it comes to traffic and work zones, we're not going to have to cross individual properties, which is good." It is anticipated that construction will start in the next few months. Columbia Gas will control traffic to guide people through the work zones once construction begins, and the company committed to paving the impacted roadways afterward. The timeline is still fluid, but the hope is to have a new line in place for the 2023-24 winter, Cutler said. Columbia Gas is still having conversations about other ways to serve impacted customers in case the line is not in place by then. "Ultimately, what we don't want is a situation in which the current line is taken out of service, and there's no way to serve those 2,400 residents on those cold days in the winter," he said. "If we can't have the new system constructed in time for the next winter heating season then we have to have a mitigation effort in place to carry us over until we can build the new system next spring or next summer." Columbia Gas is working with local governments for the project, Cutler said. The company will communicate more with residents in the area when the project gets closer to its construction start date. "The point of this project is we need to keep delivering that safe and reliable gas to those 2,400 residents on those cold days," he said. "We can't just say that line is going out, and there is nothing we can do about it. As a utility, we have that responsibility." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.