Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
OPERATION PIPELINE
OPERATION PIPELINE. In 1959 a 2,700-foot Northern Natural Gas Company pipeline was stretched across the MISSISSIPPI RIVER at Nine-Mile Island. The concrete-encased 24-inch pipe was floated across the river supported by over 1,000 barrels attached to the pipe by strapping. As the pipe was positioned over a ditch that had been dredged in the river bed, the barrels were cut loose causing the pipeline to settle into place.
At some places the pipeline settled thirty feet below the river's surface. The 18 mile pipeline was built from Peosta to a point south of East Dubuque by William Bros. Construction Company. The pipeline would supply gas to a 145-mile line from East Dubuque to Des Plaines, Illinois.
The pipe coated in concrete to protect it from damage and corrosion was floated in sections. As each section entered the river, the next section was welded on and sealed with concrete at the joining point. The barrels used to float the pipe were retrieved and returned to a Minneapolis company that loaned them for this project. More than 1,000 barrels were needed since the pipe weighed 395 pounds per foot.
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Source:
Ingerson, Ralph, "Concrete Coated Pipe Now at River Bottom," Telegraph Herald, July 24, 1959, p. 1