Rerouting of pipeline at Costco site is completed

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The natural gas pipeline underneath the Costco property in Perrysburg has finally been rerouted, a Columbia Gas Transmission official said.
Its path under the proposed store and parking lot created objections from Columbia Gas Transmissions and forced Costco to seek its realignment and delay construction of the store.
The line now will go around the to be built parking lot, and the original line has been removed. About 1,300 feet of new piping was installed.
Costco presented plans for its 154,300-square foot warehouse club store near the corner of State Rt. 25 and Eckel Junction Road in Perrysburg in the fall of 2013. But when Columbia Gas objected to the plan which showed first the store and then the store’s parking lot over the line, Costco proposed rerouting the line and reaching an agreement to do so took about a year.
Columbia Gas Transmissions did not want anything built over the line, including pavement for parking, because it would hinder monitoring the line for leaks and for making repairs if there was a leak or if maintenance was needed.
The new pipeline now goes around the north and sides of the Costco site, instead of diagonally through it. The work was completed without a serious problem, as sometimes has occurred when contractors have worked near an active gas line.
Construction of the store on the former horse farm site began several weeks ago and city officials have said Costco hopes to have the building enclosed by year’s end to allow for indoor work to continue during the winter. The site is to have a 16-pump gas station and two outlots which are expected to be a bank and a fast-food restaurant. There will be 720 parking spots.
Costco representatives originally planned on opening next fall, but a speedy construction may bring the opening sooner.