By Bob Vlach
Woodford Sun Staff
Columbia Gas contractors are currently replacing natural gas lines in Midway, Mayor Grayson Vandegrift told the Sun.
Work to replace the aging gas lines in the city is ongoing and will likely take a couple of years to complete, according to what Vandegrift said he has been told.
He described the current work in the northern part of town as “pretty disruptive” and unfortunate because roads in that area will need to be repaved. However, he said Columbia Gas has agreed to pay half of the cost to repave the roads, which have not been repaved for a while.
Vandegrift anticipates the work on North Winter Street, and First and Second streets being completed this fall. His bigger concern comes when Columbia Gas contractors move to the Higgins and Stephens streets area, where roads have recently been repaved. If the Columbia Gas contractor cuts into those newly paved streets, the utility company should have to pay the entire cost of repaving those streets again, he said.
“And maybe they will (cover that cost),” he continued. “We just haven’t had those conversations yet.”
Moreover, Vandegrift said, “All utility companies … and their contractors could be a little bit thoughtful about the effects this has on the town.”
He added that the gas tax received by the City of Midway and other Kentucky cities does not cover the actual cost of repaving roads. He estimated about 50 percent of that cost comes out of Midway’s general fund.