GAS CO. CLAIMS PROGRESS
Columbia says work ‘substantially’ done
Columbia Gas declared Thursday it has “substantially” completed Phase II of restoration of homes and businesses after the September gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley, a milestone that was welcomed, with some wariness, by local officials.
Columbia said it has fulfilled its commitment to replace the appliances and equipment of about 10,000 customers that were damaged by the explosions.
“While today’s announcement marks an important step in the restoration of these communities, we know there is still work to be done to regain our customers’ trust and our entire Columbia Gas team remains committed to helping the community heal and restoring the faith of our customers across the state of Massachusetts,” Columbia Gas president Mark Kempic said in a statement.
Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said while he believes the company’s announcement, he has sent city officials into the community to check things out.
“In the spirit of trust but verify, members of the Lawrence Health and Human services division will be making house calls and phone calls to check the status of all those affected in Phase II,” Rivera said. “Long after Columbia Gas has repaired the last house, we will still be here picking up the pieces to make our community whole again.”
The company said as part of its statement that it would remain in the community through next May to service and repair newly restored boilers and appliances as necessary.
The Sept. 13 gas disaster killed a Lawrence teenager, injured nearly two dozen others and damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes across Lawrence, Andover and North Andover. Dozens of miles of road were ripped up as crews rushed to replace more than 43 miles of pipeline after the blasts.
While the majority of affected customers had their heating equipment fully replaced in December as part of Phase I, about 875 had their heating equipment repaired instead of fully replaced in order to restore their gas before winter, the company said.
Phase II, which began in the spring, centered around returning to those homes and fully replacing the equipment, according to the release. The company said Phase II also involved repairing outdoor areas affected by the construction, including residential lawns, irrigation systems, walkways, driveways and state roads throughout the community.
“Great news, but the work to fully restore the communities will go on for years,” tweeted Former North Andover Town Manager Andrew Maylor. “It may not be until 2020 before Grogans Field in North Andover is fully restored after it housed travel trailers during the recovery phase of the disaster.”