Rio Grande Gorge pipeline project delayed
The New Mexico Gas Co. installation of a pipeline in the Rio Grande Gorge between Rinconada and Pilar might not be finished until early February, the company said Monday.
The company’s original timetable was to complete the pipeline by Nov. 30. Its new goal is “weather permitting and provided our excavation crews don’t encounter additional veins of granite,” it said.
But concrete barriers along the two-lane stretch of N.M. 68 that runs through the steep-walled gorge will be removed to fully re-open the road to traffic during the holidays, beginning at noon Friday and continuing though Jan. 2.
Work on the remaining two miles to reach the south end of the project is scheduled to resume Jan. 2, the company said.
Company spokesman Tim Korte has said unexpected veins of granite where the new pipe is being installed in the N.M. 68 right of way are partially responsible for delays in completing what is called the Taos Mainline reroute project. Shifting soils and landslides on the west side of the river prompted the utility to build the new pipeline.
The extended work schedule means crews will have to contend with winter weather.
If a storm is approaching, the company said, it will meet with the state Department of Transportation to assess the situation. “Several options will be under consideration, including continuing our work in light snowfall with the (Transportation Department) salting and plowing as warranted,” it stated in a news release. “It’s also possible that a major winter storm could mean suspending construction for several days.”
Crews are currently trenching, staging, welding and installing the pipeline near Mile Marker 25. “A separate work zone has been established near Mile Marker 24 to bore under the highway where the pipeline will tie in to the existing Taos Mainline,” the release stated.
The existing 8-inch pipeline, which is being replaced with a 12-inch pipeline to accommodate growth, delivers natural gas to about 16,000 customers around Taos, Questa and Red River.
Limited crews will be working over the holidays but their assignments will be away from the highway, the company said, and no traffic controls will be imposed again until Jan. 3.
The utility began the $14 million, 6-mile project in August, at the height of the tourist season. The company warned that motorists might encounter traffic delays of 15 to 30 minutes as construction reduced traffic to one lane, with motorists coming from opposite directions taking turns waiting for an escort vehicle to lead them through a one-mile work zone.