For the past two months, Nicor Gas trucks and equipment have been a common sight in Flossmoor as crews work to modernize aging underground infrastructure.
Joe DelReal, Nicor’s manager of community relations and economic development, said Thursday the project will take another six weeks to complete. Once work is finished, he said, Nicor will restore areas where lawns and paving have been affected by the project.
upgrade aging gas infrastructure. (Photo
by Tom Houlihan/H-F Chronicle)
For the past two months, Nicor Gas trucks and equipment have been a common sight in Flossmoor as crews work to modernize aging underground infrastructure.
Joe DelReal, Nicor’s manager of community relations and economic development, said Thursday the project will take another six weeks to complete. Once work is finished, he said, Nicor will restore areas where lawns and paving have been affected by the project.
Nicor, as part of a multi-year initiative to replace older transmission systems, is replacing copper used for gas transmission from the early 1960s through 1970, DelReal said. The new gas service material is a medium-density polyethylene plastic.
Crews are not currently working in Homewood but a similar project may commence in the village in about six weeks, he said.
New natural gas lines will be installed to homes and businesses, connecting individual properties to gas mains. Work, which takes place outside, is completed at each address in about one day. Gas service must be turned off while the work is under way.
After the new gas line is connected, workers must enter homes and or businesses to restore natural gas service and re-light appliances, DelReal said. If no one is available to let Nicor personnel inside, the utility will leave a phone number for rescheduling, he said.
As the work has proceeded, Nicor crews have left piles of dirt where digging has occurred, mostly on parkways.
Restoration work usually commences between four and six weeks after work takes place, DelReal said.
“Nicor Gas will restore landscaping and paving impacted by our work to the condition in which we found it,” he said, adding other factors including weather and availability of materials could affect the restoration time frame.
DelReal said people with questions can call Nicor at 630-388-3137 for project-related information and at 800-730-6114, extension 4, for information on landscaping and paving restoration. Information is also available at nicorgas.com/WorkInYourNeighborhood.
