SCARBOROUGH —The Town of Scarborough has announced a pipeline replacement project. Construction of the natural gas pipeline will begin next week.  

 Unitil Corporation, based in Hampton, New Hampshire, is the provider of natural gas and electricity for Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company serves about 107,100 electric customers and 85,600 natural gas customers. Unitil has been working closely with the Scarborough Public Works Department Sanitary District on the project. The contractor for the project is RH White Constructions and Service Solutions and will conduct the work on Unitil’s behalf in the area. 

Replacement of the sanitary force main to relocate the existing utilities will be conducted. This is part of an advanced plan for the Municipal Roadway Improvement Project which is taking place along Gorham Road.  

Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara said construction for the project will take place along Gorham Road, Ridgeway Road, and Maple Avenue.  

“I know from our perspective that we are doing this replacement work in collaboration with the town, so they have some work that is going on in the Gorham Road area. We are replacing approximately 3,000 feet of pipe; we have been in close contact with the town as far as the overall project. I believe that the sanitary department had some work that was occurring as well,” said Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara. 

O’Meara said that their work could begin as early as next week but will depend on weather and many other factors. The estimated period for the project is three months. 

“Like any construction project there are a variety of things that can impact that time frame but three months is the initial estimated time frame,” said O’Meara. 

 O’Meara said in the company’s project statement that Unitil has been working with town officials to make sure there will be minimal disruptions. During construction, vehicle speed limits will be reduced within the work zone and heavy truck traffic will be detoured onto Haigis Parkway and Payne Road. Residents and others driving in the area should use alternate routes if possible. 

“Our plan is to work efficiently and to have our line out of the way in time for this important road improvement project to begin,” said O’Meara 

The project is similar to the work Unitil conducted in Scarborough several years ago. It is the second phase of  work done in April 2021 when 3,000 feet of pipe was replaced. The previous project took place between Nonesuch River near Ridgeway Road and Dragon Fly Drive. Unitil also worked with Scarborough in 2018 where they replaced 5,600 feet of pipe on Gorham Road between Maple and Route One.