Atlanta, GA – During the past 25 years, Atlanta’s metropolitan area has experienced rapid growth, and much of that growth has taken place in areas such as Duluth, which is farther removed from Atlanta Gas Light’s existing interstate supply points and high-pressure transmission pipeline system. Today’s low natural gas prices present an ideal time to invest in system-wide improvements that will help the region.
Georgia Strategic Infrastructure Development and Enhancement Program, or STRIDE, started in 2009 as part of a 10-year system reinforcement program to improve Atlanta Gas Light’s ability to meet customers’ need for natural gas and their obligation to provide enough to serve them on the coldest days of the year.
Pond & Company (Pond) served as Atlanta Gas Light’s prime design consultant for this project from conception through construction. Pond’s role included coordination across all aspects of the project from survey, design, and land acquisition to construction, testing and start-up. As the engineering consultant for the project, Pond provided professional services to design the pipeline, a large regulator station to reduce pressure to suitable levels and associated appurtenances. In addition to engineering services, Pond also managed land acquisition, survey and geotechnical services provided by subcontractors to Pond. Pond also provided on-site inspection services throughout construction for cathodic protection and stray AC current mitigation to insure the pipeline would not experience corrosion related failures or disturb the environment. This team was on-site throughout construction inspecting the quality of the systems put in place to minimize pipe corrosion, as well as to perform coating inspections and protect against any unforeseen circumstances related to stray AC current on the pipeline during and after construction.
Given the complexity of the project, the number of entities, personnel and challenges involved, this project sets a gold standard for coordination, design, and responsiveness for the entire profession and serves as an example of how to overcome extreme challenges while still meeting schedule and budget constraints.
The Georgia Chapter of the ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies) awarded this project with a Merit Award in 2015.