'Permanent' Pipeline Repair Underway

Buckeye Pipe Line workers are back beneath Route 206, this time making a permanent fix to the pipeline that leaked .

Company spokesman David Boone said an approximately 50-foot section of the steel pipeline is currently being replaced by crews working 24 hours per day.

"Work is continuing until we complete the repair, which we expect will be the end of the week," he said, adding work is currently projected to be finished by Saturday.

The work is not expected to cause any additional traffic problems on Route 206.

The pipeline was installed in the 1950s, Boone estimated, and is regularly checked for corrosion, deterioration or cracks by robotic equipment—this area was last tested in 2011.

"We do integrity tests on a very frequent basis," he said. "It tested fine for Buckeye's integrity standards—that's what makes us curious."

The section of the pipeline that leaked has been removed, and Boone said it would be sent to a laboratory for investigation into the cause of the leak, which has not been determined.

The new section will be welded into place, and checked by radiography for structural integrity before the line is placed back online.

When the repair is completed, the company will fill in the pits made for the repairs, then return in the spring to do landscaping. 

But monitoring of the area for any remaining gas in the soil will continue for some time, Boone noted.