PennDOT partnering with gas companies on roads

BY VIRGINIA CODY

PennDOT opened its weekly meeting with natural gas company representatives to members of the media Friday to demonstrate its growing road construction partnership inWyomingandSusquehannaCounties.

Attended by representatives from Southwestern, Williams,Chesapeake, and Gas Search Drilling, the meetings are designed to foster communication about natural gas drilling projects and community needs, Bob Hassel, a PennDOT maintenance engineer who headed up the meeting explained.

“To be honest, when Marcellus Shale came up two years ago, we didn’t expect the number or the weight of the trucks,” Hassel told the group.

Now, he said, because of the increased communication, he can safely say that many of the roads in areas where the natural gas companies are working are in much better condition.

ChesapeakeEnergy Manager – Corporate Development Mike Narcavage advised PennDOT the company had spent $144 million during the last four years upgrading and rebuilding roads.  Narcavage projected that in 2012, the company will spend another $110 million.

“Our goal is not just forChesapeake, but for the traveling public,” Narcavage said.

William White, Maintenance Special Projects Engineer for PennDOT requested the companies put together a projection of which roads they were planning on rebuilding over the next year so that PennDOT didn’t waste money patching roads that were going to be completely redone.

Chesapeakesaid the company would be able to provide that plan within the next few weeks.

Hassel pointed out there were some areas the gas companies needed to pay better attention to as winter approaches.

“Mud on the road: Be careful there.  Clean that up because it gets pretty slick,” he said.  “And now with the sun being lower in the sky, alert your flaggers.  Don’t be in the shadows.  Your workers are tired and it gets dark earlier.”

Hassel also said he believed municipalities would be implementing user fees now that Governor Tom Corbett has authorized them and that municipalities would be using that money to deal with roads PennDOT was unable to bond and permit.

Hassel reminded the companies to make sure that trucks carried proper paperwork in their cabs when traversing roads in overweight vehicles.

The reason, he explained, is that if the trucks are pulled over, time would be wasted trying to run down permit and bond numbers.

“And there are many places that have no cell phone service,” he said.