The excavation work being done on Colby Road near Becknerville Road is part of a 15-year-old Columbia Gas pipeline project.(Photo by Randy Patrick)

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RANDY PATRICK

Sun Reporter

The excavation work being done on Colby Road near Becknerville is part of a Columbia Gas pipeline project that began 15 years ago on Irvine Road.

Risa Richarson, a spokesperson for the company, said the contractors are replacing 5,500 feet of a high-pressure bare-seal pipeline built in 1917 with a 12-inch coated pipeline that has enhanced safety features.

The section on Colby, which began back in the spring near The Ridings, runs from about Rickard Lane to juste west of Becknerville Road. Land agents are still working to acquire property in between the two locations.

The work is being done by Team Fishel, the same company that worked on the pipeline in the spring.

“They just started this week working on Colby,” but they don’t know when they will finish.

It is part of an effort to improve the company’s infrastructure throughout more than 30 counties it serves.

She said the work will also include the extension of service lines to homes in the area.

The line is to eventually extend from Colby Road to along Todds Road in Fayette County.