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DALLAS TWP. — Two sections of the Transcontinental Natural Gas Pipeline off state Route 415 are scheduled for pipe replacement next week, according to a company spokesperson.

Williams Companies, the owner of the Transco Pipeline, routinely inspects its 10,200-mile infrastructure — including 3,300-miles in Pennsylvania — with a device called a “smart pig,” which scans the interior of the pipe to locate deficiencies in the steel walls, spokesman Chris Stockton said Monday.

A “smart pig” is a torpedo-shaped device with sensors on the tip that scan 360 degrees while traveling up to six miles-per-hour inside a natural gas pipeline.

The inline inspection device measures the steel thickness of the pipe’s walls, Stockton said.

“It (the smart pig) can detect areas of corrosive damage,” Stockton said.

When damaged areas are identified, crews dig up that section of pipeline for further examination and pipe replacement, he said.

Stockton said a recent inspection in Dallas Township revealed two, “two-to-three-foot sections” of pipeline that need to be replaced, he said.

One part of the pipe is off state Route 415 near the Dallas Township meter station. The second section is about 1,600 feet west of the meter station, Stockton said in an email.

“We are currently in the area locating the lines and preparing for the excavation work, which should begin next week,” he said. “It (the repair work) should last two to three days to complete.”

Last week, an interior pipe inspection in Wyoming County located three sections of pipe that required replacement, Stockton said.

“The work taking place in Dallas Township on our Transco Pipeline is part of our normal operations and maintenance program,” Stockton said.

Stockton said the pipeline network allows the company to isolate a section of pipe by redirecting the natural gas flow to a parallel gas line.

The original Transco Pipeline was constructed in the early 1950s to transport natural gas from Texas shipping ports to cities and towns in the northeast part of the country.

The pipeline system transports a total of 11 billion cubic feet of gas per day, which includes 3.5 billion cubic feet through Pennsylvania.

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By Eileen Godin

[email protected]

Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.