Upper Makefield pipeline near finish

A pipeline improvement project in Upper Makefield is on track to conclude early in the new year.
Joseph Massaro, a representative for Energy Transfer, a midstream energy company conducting construction on the Sunoco Pipeline Project, said installation of the line should be completed sometime in January.
Massaro was speaking at a recent Upper Makefield Board of Supervisors meeting in which he also shared that Energy Transfer will winterize/stabilize the site after heavy work concludes. Come spring, Energy Transfer will perform restoration on the construction-disturbed area – work that will include planting grass and trees. Oakdale Avenue will also be paved, he said.
Massaro shared that workers have already concluded the loudest part of the project – casing installation. He said hydrotesting, which is done to ensure the integrity of the steel line, will be occurring and can cause loud squeal-like sounds. Both residents and police will be notified in an effort to assuage any alarm the sound might cause, Massaro said.
Heading into the project, some residents were concerned about noise and other potential issues. But officials said there haven’t been significant complaints.
To the contrary, Supervisor Yvette E. Taylor said feedback she has received from residents on the project has been positive. “Neighbors said you have been doing a good job keeping the streets clean,” Taylor told Massaro.

A resident commented that when he stopped at the site and asked workers what the project was, “They were well-mannered and open with us. They couldn’t have been nicer.”
The project is focused on replacing part of an existing pipeline that’s capable of carrying 4,200 gallons of fuel per hour. The line runs through part of Upper Makefield and beneath the Delaware River into New Jersey.
Project officials have said that the pipeline in place before construction dates to the 1950s and was in need of replacing, as temporary repairs that have been made are insufficient for the long-term integrity of the line.
The new pipe will about 14 inches in diameter. Fuel running through it could include gas, jet fuel, diesel, and home heating oil. The testimony at public hearings on the project earlier this year was that the line, which terminates in Newark, N.J., would often carry jet fuel.
The old pipe will be purged, cleaned and filled with grout.

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