In addition to this website, Washington Gas will also notify the account holder on record via U.S. mail that the work in your neighborhood is scheduled to begin. A letter detailing a project overview of the construction process, as well as the names and contact numbers of assigned project personnel that can answer any project questions during working hours will be sent. The notification letter will be followed by a door hanger and a face-to-face visit by our construction representative or contractor to discuss the construction process and to answer any questions you might have. If no one is home, a notification card is left behind with contact information to call us to schedule your service replacement.

In some instances, we will need to secure sufficient work space in the street to conduct the needed construction activity. As necessary “No Parking” sign(s) will be posted, typically at least 72 hours in advance within the affected work area. Lastly, before the construction work begins, a representative from Miss Utility will identify and locate all of the underground utility lines within your neighborhood with paint marks and / or flags as required by law. These paint marks will help minimize any potential damages to underground utility lines during excavation.

This is the phase of the project where the actual work to replace/remediate the existing gas main and service lines with modern material are performed.  As mentioned above, the type, size, and number of excavation varies based on the installation method necessary for the project. 

These various installation methods are as follows:

Main

1. Main Direct Bury Method
2. Main Insertion Method - wherein the new gas line is inserted through the existing gas main.
3. Main Directional Drill Method –utilized to the extent practicable to minimize the necessary restoration.

Service

1. Service Insert or
2. Direct Bury Method
   
   

 It is important to note that regardless of the construction technique employed there are common activities to all which include:

1. Maintenance of Traffic
   The preparation for an excavation as well as the actual excavation work will often involve the closure of sidewalk(s) and/or street lane(s). This is accomplished by utilizing approved and permitted temporary traffic control measures to facilitate the safe flow of pedestrians and traffic as well as the most expeditious execution of our work.
2. Placement of Steel Plates
   Steel plates may be placed and maintained at the excavation locations at the end of the workday to protect vehicles and pedestrians from the excavated areas as well as to maintain traffic flow to the extent possible.
3. Management of Excavated Materials/ Spoils
   The excavated material or “spoils” will be evaluated to see if they can be reused to fill the excavation aka. “Backfilling”. Excess or unusable materials or spoils will not be stockpiled in the job site, but rather will be hauled away and an approved backfill material brought in to complete the burial or “backfilling” of the gas line(s). In many/most cases for service line replacement/remediation, the native top soils from the excavation on your property will be utilized to backfill any excavation on your property.Some select material may be utilized directly around the gas piping with the remainder being the native soil originally removed.
4. Control of Erosion and Sediments
   To protect sediments from getting into the storm drains, proper erosion and sediment control measures will be taken as necessary per regulation.
5. Management and Upkeep of Staging Area
   In order to facilitate the efficient execution of a project a permitted temporary staging/storage area where necessary construction materials, such as pipes and fittings, select backfill materials, cold mix asphalt, and construction equipment will be established.A portable sanitary facility for the construction workers will be placed at this staging area as necessary.

Restoration of Hard Surfaces and Landscaping or Disruptions to Property

Initial temporary restoration of areas impacted by construction activities will be completed and maintained as necessary until the final and permanent restoration is performed. Permanent restorations activities will automatically be initiated by our workers once the gas line work in an area is completed.  This will occur as soon as practicable but may be delayed as paving operations are effected/limited by weather.  This process is discussed in the post-construction / restoration phase. 

This is the final phase of the construction process where we mobilize our paving crews to permanently restore the roadway pavement and other hard surfaces in your yard that were disturbed by our pipeline crew while performing their work.  Before our paving crew begins their work, they will notify your neighborhood in advance by posting signs or placing door hangers on your door, and in some cases, when paving work will be in the roadway, will post “no parking” signs in areas as needed.  Our representative will also make arrangements with you to address any restoration issues needed to be performed in your yard.

It is important to note that when restoring cuts made on a roadway or sidewalk pavement, the placement of concrete or asphalt mixtures is weather and temperature dependent.  In the interim, we will continue to maintain the temporary paving patches until the final pavement restoration is performed. In many cases, the paving work will require to temporarily close a sidewalk or street lane for traffic.  This is accomplished by utilizing the approved temporary traffic control measures to facilitate a safe and expeditious execution of work by our paving restoration crew. 

Depending upon the weather, scope, and the extent of restoration, the work can be completed in several days.  For example, it takes two trips/mobilizations for our paving crew to perform restoration on a roadway structure with concrete base and an asphalt surface versus one trip/ mobilization for a roadway structure that has an aggregate base and a full-depth asphalt.  The first scenario requires placement and curing of the concrete base for strength prior to milling the existing asphalt surface and overlaying it with new asphalt.  It will take several days to cure the concrete base; steel plates will be temporarily placed over the concrete base to protect it from vehicular loads during its curing process.  The second scenario only requires milling of the surface of existing full-depth asphalt roadway and overlaying it with new asphalt.  Finally, as soon as our paving contractor completes the roadway surface restoration, the pavement marking or line striping will then be restored.

Ahead of Paving (AOP) Projects

Infrastructure improvement and renovation projects by others, such as roadway reconstruction or resurfacing and storm drain improvements, within the public right of way initiated by federal, state, and local transportation agencies, may involve utility line relocation and/or abandonment in advance of their work to facilitate the safe and efficient execution of their projects.  These types of work are generally referred to as Ahead of Paving (AOP) projects.  It is important to note that for these projects the paving cuts by Washington Gas’ contractor will be temporarily restored and maintained until the AOP project, e.g. roadway improvement project, is performed by the state or local agencies which will carry out the permanent paving restoration.