Replacing a natural gas pipeline in the middle of Detroit

In October 2021 Brownline has been involved in the replacement of a natural gas pipeline. This 2700-feet bore was commissioned by Mears Group, and it took place right in the middle of Detroit, MI!

Many older natural gas pipelines are made of cast iron and steel, installed along with copper service lines. By the end of their life cycles, the risks of leakage and with it, lessening of reliability increase sharply. Detroit’s local energy supplier therefore updated over 200 miles of natural gas pipelines. This particular portion of the project was located in the middle of Detroit, MI along the city’s main highway. With such a high trafficked area, time was of the essence.

We were able to deploy our Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool in combination with the Radar Intersecting method to ensure that this project was completed in a timely manner. Due to an existing waterline at entry this contractor also used our GPS Track Service to verify with extra confidence that this particular line would not be struck.

Crossing railroad, rivers and moving along under extremely busy areas is not a problem for the Drillguide GST and Radar combo! This project comes at a time of renewed attention nationally to the issue of gas leaks. Upon completion of this project, customers will have safer and more convenient service as well as fewer gas leaks.

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