Following the Colonial Pipeline leak that occurred September 9 in Shelby County, Alabama, there have been news reports of price hikes and supply concerns.
Advertisement
The pipeline company working to fix the leak says its bypass fix is complete and it expects to restart its main gasoline line Wednesday.
The Alpharetta, Ga. -based pipeline company has finished emergency construction of a 500-foot section of pipe to serving as a bypass for the leaking section that it expects to open Wednesday.
States supplied by that line were hit by price increases and shortages after a leak was detected September 9 near Pelham, Alabama. But Baker said motorists need to be patient as it still will take a few days for the fuel supply chain to fully recover after the line restarts.
In recent days, several service-stations in Asheville have been pumped dry of fuel or have seen lengthy lines of motorists hoping to fill up their tanks.
The report does not identify the cause of the leak.
ATLANTA (AP) Colonial Pipeline has restarted the gasoline pipeline in Alabama that was shut down after a major leak, which caused shortages and surging fuel prices across the South.
Colonial Pipeline provides gasoline for about 50 million people between Houston, TX and New York City every day. Usually running at full capacity, it provides almost 40 percent of the Southeast and East Coast region’s gasoline.
Authorities from the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration must approve the change before refined gas flows through Line 1, Colonial spokesman Don Pozi told AL.com.
“I have determined that an “extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstance” exists that will prevent the distribution of an adequate supply of gasoline to consumers”, McCarthy wrote in a letter to the governors of those states and the mayor of the District of Columbia.
Retail gasoline prices in Georgia, one of the hardest hit states, jumped almost 6 cents overnight to Monday, or more than 20 cents higher than a week ago, to $2.316 a gallon on average, according to motorists’ advocacy group AAA.
In Asheville, the average price for regular unleaded gas Tuesday was $2.25, up from $2.23 a gallon Monday. The company said it has 700 employees and contractors working on the site.
Advertisement
AAA reports Tuesday that Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia also saw prices climb since Monday.
