May 19--Ever wonder if those road projects you pass on your daily commute are taking longer than planned?

That just might be the case.

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, the York Water Co. and York City have started to collaborate on projects with the goal of inconveniencing drivers one time rather than on multiple occasions to complete various projects.

Last year, Columbia Gas launched its $1.5 billion, 20-year project to replace 2,400 miles of aging natural gas lines throughout its 26-county service area, including York County.

Laid end-to-end, the replacement lines would stretch from Pennsylvania to California, said Bethany Burtyk, manager of the communications at Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania.

To help fund the improvements, the company last fall increased the average customer's bill by about 6.4 percent, or $8 per month.

Columbia Gas serves about 100,000 customers in York County.

Money borrowed from banks will also be a source of the project's funding, Burtyk said.

Before the company laid its first line of the project in the city, it met with the York Water Co. and York City to hammer out a deal that would benefit all three groups.

For example, Columbia Gas breaks ground and lays its new lines.

Once Columbia workers are finished, if needed, the York Water Co. comes in from behind and makes repairs to its system using the same hole dug by the natural gas company, Burtyk said.

York Water Co. repairs usually involve the replacement of a water

main, service lines and valves, said Jeff Hines, company president.

Later, York City repaves the part of the street damaged by the utility work.

On some projects, York City has provided York Water with a list of roads it plans to repave and, in turn, the company checked if repairs were needed in that area, Hines said.

"In many cases, Columbia, York Water and the City of York share the costs of restoring the street," Burtyk said. "The projects may take a couple of months to complete, but all the projects are done at one time."

FACTS

Here's some facts about the project and its impact on York City.

--- Columbia Gas, through its infrastructure and replacement project, has spent between $7 million and $8 million in York City, alone.

--- In that time, the natural gas provider has replaced service lines for 1,100 customer in York City.

NUMBERS

--- 2008: The year Columbia Gas broke ground on its line replacement project.

--- 20: The number of years the project is expected to take.

--- 2,400: The number of miles of aging natural gas lines it needs to replace.

--- 26: The number of counties, including York County, that are affected by the line replacement.

--- $1.5 billion: That's how much the project is expected to cost.

--- $8: That's the average increase in a customer's monthly bill to pay for the project.

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