DULUTH — The city of Duluth has released more information about the steps that were taken by the city, Ames/Kraemer Joint Venture and the Minnesota Department of Transportation to prevent a disruption in natural gas customer service after one of MnDOT’s contractors hit a gas line on Thursday, Jan 27
At 11:25 am on Jan. 27, the contractor notified the city immediately upon hitting the city’s largest gas main, near the rail yard by 19th Avenue West and Michigan Street. The contractor called 911, and the Duluth Fire Department and City Public Works dispatched crews to evaluate the situation. By 12:05 pm, staff confirmed the line had been hit and worked to shut down the line. MnDOT and the Minnesota Office of Pipeline Safety were notified of the hit.
City crews worked throughout the afternoon and evening to isolate the area and depressurize the gas main, remaining on scene until 1 am The city of Duluth issued a news release about the hit at 9 pm
According to a statement from City Chief Engineer Eric Shaffer in the news release, crews worked to close the valves for the section “as fast as possible.” He also said the joint effort between the city, MnDOT staff and Ames/Kraemer Joint Venture crews “allowed crews to excavate and reach the line faster” to begin the repairs.
The city sent out a press release at 6:50 am Friday morning to ask residents in Lakeside and Woodland to reduce their thermostats to 62 degrees. According to Wednesday’s news release, “This request was targeted to Lakeside and Woodland because they are the largest neighborhoods within the area where the gas supply was reduced. By reducing the heating load in these areas, the load on the overall gas system was reduced. ” By noon on Friday, the city extended the request to all natural gas users east of Lake Avenue until further notice.
By 3 pm crews started to dig a second excavation point to begin draining the pipe of water. By 5 pm, crews were able to dewater the excavation. Work then began to remove the steel casing from around the pipe to allow for installations of repair clamps to fix the break. Just before 11 pm crews finished the repair clamp installation and welding of purging equipment.
By Saturday, the city issued another news release requesting that natural gas customers east of Lake Avenue maintain the 62-degree setting through the weekend in order to avoid shutting off heat to specific areas. Crews worked to purge the remaining water left in the system. There was also a smell of gas in the Lincoln Park area, which the city cited as being “a natural consequence of the repair process” and that there was “no threat to the public .”
By 1:30 pm Saturday, the gas line was closed, allowing gas to be reintroduced to the line and was full of pressure. Crews began inspecting for leaks. At 2 pm, the line was fully turned on and city staff continued to monitor the flow and pressure throughout the day. By Sunday morning, crews were able to open a valve to feed gas to the rest of the system and monitored the flow until 11 am, when they made the call to lift the gas limitation at noon.
“MnDOT is working with our project partners, the city of Duluth and Ames-Kraemer Joint Venture to improve processes on the Twin Ports Interchange project,” said Pat Huston, MnDOT Assistant District Engineer of Major Project. “We are working collaboratively to implement changes that will reduce the risk of future errors.”
While the gas main was fixed temporarily, city staff stated in the news release that they are “confident that they have repaired the line until it can be permanently fixed.” A permanent fix is planned for after the ground thaws. It will depend on the ground and weather conditions to determine how long it will take to make the repair. The investigation into the matter will continue.
