Pipeline Replacement Rips Through Fayette County

Folks driving on US 77 and FM 609 have probably noticed the pipeline work running through the County.

Fayette County Inspector Clint Sternadel said the workers are replacing the old Bluebonnet Pipeline, a six-inch natural gas line that runs from Buda to Hallettsville. Sternadel said the section being replaced in Fayette County runs from just west of the Colorado River in La Grange through the Hostyn area and south to Schulenburg.

The pipeline company acquired several permits from Fayette County to cross under county roads. Sternadel said all of the work is taking place within the existing pipeline easement. He said the original pipeline was installed in the 1940s or 1950s. He said all of the new work would be done according to current law and regulations, especially those regarding depths below creek beds. In addition, Sternadel said the work would not involve any new permanent surface equipment.