Minneapolis – Field, Regina, Northrop Neighborhoods
Project 1: Bryant, Regina, Field, and Page Neighborhoods, Fall 2023 to Summer 2025
Project 2: Regina, Town Oaks Townhomes (late summer, early fall 2024)
Project 3: Northrop, (Monday, July 22 into early August)
- If you contact CenterPoint Energy, please reference one of the work order numbers:
- Columbus Avenue from 41st St. E. to 48th St. E.: 109641896
- Town Oaks Townhomes: 112597386
- Northrop: 109900285
Overview
From 2023 to 2025, CenterPoint Energy plans to replace the natural gas lines in its infrastructure on select streets in the Bryant, Regina, Field, and Page Neighborhoods. The schedule below is tentative and subject to change due to budget, weather, and crew availability.
Equix Integrity will update our records on the locations of sewer lines in relation to natural gas lines. Michels Corporation will replace natural gas mains, move inside meters to the outside of homes, and replace or reconnect service lines as needed. Q3 Contracting will restore the areas affected by Michels Corporation’s work. There will be no assessment or cost associated with our work.
Summer 2024 (Northrop): From Monday, July 22 into early August, the crews will replace small-diameter natural gas plastic mains, move inside meters outside, and replace and/or reconnect service lines to the new mains. They will work along the following streets:
- 43rd Street E. from Chicago Avenue S. to 10th Avenue S.
- 44th Street E. from Chicago Avenue S. to 10th Avenue S.
- 46th Street E. from Columbus Avenue S. to 13th Avenue S.
- 10th Avenue S. from 43rd Street E. to 44th Street E.
Summer 2024 (Regina, Field, and one block of Bryant): From early August into September or October, the crews will remove and replace a large-diameter steel main on Columbus Avenue from 41st to 48th Streets E. They will install an underground vault at the intersection of Columbus Ave. S. and 48th St. E.
Late summer or early fall 2024 (Regina): For a few months in late summer or early fall 2024, the crews will replace a small-diameter plastic main, move inside meters outside by appointment, and transfer the service lines to the new main in the Town Oaks Townhomes between 43rd Street E. and 44th Street E. and between 3rd Avenue S. and 4th Avenue S.
Fall 2024 (Page): For several months this fall or next year, this work is anticipated on Columbus Avenue from Minnehaha Creek to 54th Street E. The crews will replace a small-diameter plastic main, move inside meters outside by appointment, and transfer the service lines to the new main.
Spring and summer 2025 (Field and Page): This work is anticipated on Columbus Avenue from 48th to 54th Streets E. The crews will remove and replace a large-diameter steel gas main. Although Columbus Avenue S. is anticipated to be the crews’ primary replacement corridor, they may seek realigning the Minnehaha Creek crossing on a different street.
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.
Large-diameter natural gas steel main work (Summer 2024, Spring and Summer 2025)
The crew will replace a large-diameter natural gas steel main. Since the crew needs to open trench the road to weld pieces of the main together, please expect road closures for a few blocks at a time. Traffic will be detoured to one or two blocks over. The crews will work with residents on maintaining access to and from their homes.
Typical impacts during steel main replacement may include noise, dust, and vibrations. The crew anticipates that most if not all their work should take place in the road and not on sidewalks or boulevards.
There will not be gas interruptions during the steel main replacement.
Small-diameter natural gas plastic main work (Fall 2023, Summer 2024, Fall 2024)
One crew will replace the small-diameter natural gas main. They plan to bore it underneath a sidewalk. Another crew will follow to work on the service lines and meters.
Please keep in mind that some intersections or some sidewalk panels at intersections may not be permanently restored until after the service line work is done. After all customers’ service lines are transferred to the new main, the crew can connect the new main to the existing intersecting mains and put the new main into service. Then the restoration crew will permanently restore these areas. Until then, customers may see temporary backfill such as dirt or gravel. We thank you for your patience!
Service line and meter work (Fall 2023, Summer 2024, Fall 2024)
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 foreman 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.
Restoration
After the service line and meter work, the gas crew will backfill the excavated areas with dirt or gravel. This will be temporary before the restoration crew comes. On boulevards and lawns, they will refill the areas with black dirt, grass seed, and netting that degrades over about four months. Prior to mowing the restored area, remove any loose staples that secured the blanket. For photo examples, please visit our
Restoration Practices page.
We hope to minimize the disruption as much as possible. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we replace our infrastructure. We wish you a great season.
