Crews’ progress

This week, the crew plans to bore a small-diameter natural gas main under the southern sidewalk of 48th Street W. just east of Emerson Avenue S. and under the northern sidewalk of 48th Street W. between Bryant and Lyndale Avenues S. When the crew will install the new main, they will close the sidewalk where the main will be replaced. They will close parking on both sides of 48th Street W. Traffic will remain open.

This week, four other crews will begin on the 4500 blocks of Bryant Avenue S. and Dupont Avenue S. and the 5000 block of Girard Avenue S., working north.

Marking utilities

CenterPoint Energy will contact Gopher State One Call 811 to locate public underground utilities such as water, sewer, and cable. You will see markings such as spray paint and utility flags. They will be color-coordinated to indicate a separate utility.

If you have installed any private lines such as sprinklers or dog fences, we ask that you mark them with whatever material is convenient for you. Examples include spray paint, flags, and wooden sticks used to stir paint. Marking sprinkler heads is sufficient.

If any utility flags are left in residents’ yards after the natural gas work and the restoration work is done, and the crew do not remove the flags, residents can remove the flags and throw them away.

Service line and meter work

The customer will receive a CenterPoint Energy postcard in the mail explaining the project before the natural gas crews perform the work. The crews will have CenterPoint Energy-authorized photo IDs. After the customer receives the postcard, the technician will arrive at the customer’s house to schedule an appointment that typically meets with the customer’s schedule. If the customer isn’t home when they arrive, they will leave a door tag with their contact information to schedule an appointment with them.

One natural gas crew typically works on about one block per week. They will either fully replace the service line or reconnect it to the new main, depending on the line’s age. For most properties, the crews remove at least one sidewalk panel in front of the house, excavate a hole by the outside meter, and bore the service line from the sidewalk to the house.

For inside meters, the crew will make a two- to three-hour appointment at a time that works with the resident. We encourage customers to work with the crew on where they want the meter to go, keeping limitations in mind such as a minimum of three feet away from areas such as windows, doors, and vents. Customers with outside meters will be notified prior to the replacement or connection of the service lines to the new mains.

The technician will access the natural gas meter inside the house, move the meter outside, and relight the natural gas appliance pilot lights after the new meter has been relocated.

Contact information

Check out the project’s web page for more details and for updates on the crews’ progress. If you have questions, please contact our Communication Specialist at 612-321-5546 or hannah.gullickson@centerpointenergy.com. We thank you for your patience as we’re upgrading our infrastructure!