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After having to briefly shut down the road last week due to crews hitting a section of pipe that carries natural gas, the city of Pleasanton was able to continue its construction work to replace a water line along Sunol Boulevard.
While the project has been going smoothly for the most part, there was a small hiccup last Thursday (Jan. 23) when crews hit a “PG&E gas lateral crossing the trench shallower than anticipated,” communications manager Heather Tiernan said. A gas lateral is a section of pipe that delivers natural gas to a customer’s gas meter.
The incident occurred just outside the Weekly’s office, with visible police and fire department presence in addition to increased traffic in the area.
“PG&E, police, and fire responded to the incident,” Tiernan said. “There were no injuries, but Sunol Boulevard was closed to traffic for two hours until PG&E was able to turn off the gas.”
She said PG&E finished repairing the gas line that same day, the road was reopened later that evening and construction resumed on the water line the next day.
According to the city, the water line work is part of its near-term water improvement projects which are part of a larger initiative to “maintain a reliable and balanced water system, addressing the limited availability of water from City-owned wells due to PFAS concentrations in and around Pleasanton.”
Crews have been working on installing a 20-inch water line spanning 4,500 linear feet along Sunol Boulevard from First Street and Bernal Avenue to Sycamore Creek since late last year. The project is expected to be completed sometime this spring.
According to the city’s website, the upgrade to the 20-inch pipe will “not only replace the 12-inch line but also increase overall system capacity, offering cost savings of around $300 per linear foot compared to installing both an 18-inch and a replacement 12-inch line.”
The overall goal of the project is to increase the water capacity, city officials said.
