Community Education

Natural gas line project to create traffic delays, noise

Drivers can expect delays as Puget Sound Energy installs a natural gas main along Burnham Drive this fall.

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The 1.2-mile pipe will start at PSE’s peak shaving plant across from the women’s prison, where natural gas is stored and withdrawn in winter when customer use is highest. Then it runs under Highway 16, the Cushman Trail and North Creek to Burnham. It will then follow Burnham south to about Donkey Creek Park at the north end of downtown Gig Harbor. The 6-inch or 8-inch pipe will connect to the existing system. Most of the pipe will be installed via direct bury in public right-of-way by PSE contractor InfraSource.

Work will begin as soon as Sept. 1 and continue for about three months. Typical hours will be Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Residents and travelers can expect to encounter intermittent traffic delays throughout the project’s duration and hear noise from trucks and heavy machinery. The Cushman Trail will remain open. Signs and flaggers will guide road and trail users through the work zones.

Peninsula School District also states that construction might affect student drop-off and pick-up at Swift Water Elementary and Harbor Ridge Middle School.

The natural gas system improvement will provide backup to the peak shaving plant and increase service reliability for customers throughout the greater Gig Harbor area, according to PSE. For more than 20 years, the peak shaving plant has provided added capacity to the area when demand is high. The new line will add resiliency, allowing customers to warm their homes and businesses during times of peak demand, such as cold winter mornings, or during planned maintenance.

A postcard will be sent to the community detailing when construction is expected along the route, as it progresses.