Pipeline unearthed to repair gas main in Lititz, Pennsylvania

Lititz, Pennsylvania – Crews having been working on Buckwalter Road in Manheim Township to repair a Columbia Gas pipeline.

The problem was initially attributed to suspected tree root penetration at a welded joint, however after digging, crews found the gas main to be buried much lower than the tree roots. The work on Buckwalter Road is going to continue through the Christmas holiday to make the repair.

Lititz resident Jim Willson, a system safety engineer and former Naval Flight Officer, has been interacting with the construction crew and following their progress on site. “I must say, the crew members are the best and very pleasant to deal with. Roll down your window and greet them a Merry Christmas if you drive by. They live in Ohio and only get a couple of days to go home at Christmas.”

“I’m just glad that their robot probe discovered this. If you think this is bad, having 900 psi of natural gas emanating from a pipeline would have been much much worse. If it had ignited, the crater probably would’ve taken out three houses. The pipeline was laid out in the 60s. So this may be nothing more than an example of our aging infrastructure,” Jim said.