REX Offers Glimpse Of Pipe Laying Process

Elizabeth Bailey

This week, the Rockies Express Pipeline welcomed the media on a tour that featured the welding process for the long line of pipe that will reach the border between Ohio and West Virginia.

The pipeline started in Colorado and was constructed to Missouri, forming Rockies Express West. Now, Rockies Express East is well underway on its route through Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Near Franklin, welders, helpers, inspectors and machinery operators are hard at work each day, seamlessly welding together the sections of 42-inch pipe that will form the natural gas line. REX East is a development of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, Sempra Pipelines and Storage and ConocoPhillips. The section where the tour took place as well as the portion through Decatur County is being handled by Sheehan Contractors. Each section has its own contractors, each of which is responsible for drug testing its employees and following all of REX’s rules.

During construction, Rockies Express (REX) and its contractors use a 125-foot right of way surrounding the line. First, workers grade the land surface, remove the topsoil and place it in mounds to be replaced at the conclusion of the project. Then, the pipe is lined up along the route, bent to follow contours and welded together. The welds are x-rayed on site and treated to protect them from corrosion before the line is lowered into its position. Once the pipe is in place, through either open trenches or boring, the subsoil is replaced followed by the topsoil before revegetation takes place.

The subsoil and topsoil are carefully separated throughout the construction process to ensure the topsoil’s integrity is maintained for replacement. In addition to these measures, REX contractors are charged with installing erosion control measures to reduce damage to the land and waterways. On the site of the tour, erosion fences had been installed along Sugar Creek to reduce runoff into the waterway. In other areas, other measures are necessary. REX has a variety of rules in place to protect both its workers and the environment, and, Allen Fore, REX media relations, noted, the contractors meet each morning to determine the necessary steps for that day, including contacting landowners 48 hours before the project arrives on their property.

Fore noted a full mile of pipe can be welded on a good day. This includes cutting the ends of the pipe to the proper contour for welding and preheating the pipes before perfectly lining them up with machinery to begin the actual welding process. Each weld includes a route bead, hot pass and fillers before it is x-rayed to ensure it is completed properly.

The completed line will be monitored remotely and tested using smart pigs that measure the thickness of the pipe walls. The line is also equipped with an automatic shutdown capability in case any problems arise. Residents living near the path of the pipeline, Fore pointed out, need to be aware of its location before digging. If they are not sure, he said, they can phone Call Before You Dig by dialing 811. Although farmers with property being crossed by the pipeline will be able to continue farming the land once installation is complete, putting in field tile may pose a challenge, Fore noted.

Joe Pridgeon, REX right of way supervisor, noted modern technology - including the maintenance and inspections - allows the pipelines to last longer than a lifetime. Pipelines constructed between 1940 and 1960 are still in service, he noted.

“This will be here long after us,” he said.

Construction on this portion of the pipeline should be completed this spring with all of REX East slated to finish by summer.

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