Keesler undergoes gas piping installation

  • Published
  • By Susan Griggs
  • 81st Training Wing Public Affairs
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. --  Yellow piping sprouting from the ground marks the path of an 11-month project to upgrade the natural gas distribution system at Keesler.

"This is an important project for the entire base, since we will touch every corner of the installation," Don Kinman, CSC civil engineering manager, said of the $4,485,000 project that began in January. Mid-December is the completion target date and Green-Simmons Company of Pensacola, Fla., is the contractor.

"This project is replacing the entire Keesler gas distribution system, to include mains, laterals, regulators and meters," Kinman outlined. "The majority of the existing gas distribution system is the original 1940s piping which has severely deteriorated.

"Because of its deterioration, gas leaks are a recurring problem across the entire base, and the number of leaks has been increasing on a yearly basis," he pointed out. "Gas leaks can be dangerous. With the increase in the number of leaks, we have seen a significant increase in maintenance costs.

Dave Horner, construction oversight lead with CSC, said there are currently six directional boring rigs working across the base. The boring is expected to continue until September.

"The crews are installing 12-, 10-, 6- and 2-inch pipe throughout the base," Horner explained. "During the course of their work, each crew has to plan the route of the pipe and find existing pipe, gas lines, electrical lines and communication lines in the ground.

"CSC, along with the 81st Communications Squadron, is helping Green-Simmons locate these lines in the ground," he continued. "These partners are using every means at their disposal to locate the lines before boring begins, but as some people have experienced, lines have been inadvertently cut."

Horner said that in addition to the directional boring rigs, the operation also includes pump trucks and storage tanks to operate.

"The crews are doing their best to stay out of the roads as much as possible and try not to hinder the flow of traffic," Horner stated.

"We ask people to make sure they watch out for these workers," Kinman added.