Show s Ira a dpi I v t 4 1 t w 1 a t CHECK AND DOUBLE rho laying ui ur tue gas pipeline through Southeastern Utah calls for close checking of each step in the project and nothing is overlooked in making sure that everything is in order before workmen move on Here is shown a workman carefully checking against possible leaks a q t Natural Gas Pipeline Shows Trained Skills of Workmen Construction of the 1446 mile president of Fish North North- pipeline that will bring natural west Constructors Inc said gas to the Pacific Northwest next All six schedules supervised by summer is proceeding on schedule the Grand Junction division o of f with pipe being laid at the rate Fish Northwest constructors ar arof are arc e of miles per month well under way These include th the theThis theThis e This monthly rate of progress five spreads on the main trans trans- is expected to increase soon as mission line from the first firs more construction schedules or compressor station at Ignacio spreads are activated R. R D. D Colo on the edge of th the e vast S San n Juan fields field to the fourth I compressor compressor station In southwest Wyoming In tn addition to this miles of main line the Grand Junction JUnction JUnc- JUnc tion division Is building Schedule No 27 the 43 miles of Inch 10 lattera lat latt I era erat eral which will feed reed natural gas in In to o the main line from the Creek field of or northwest Colo Typical of or the speed and crt effi- clency of the pipeline project is the work In Schedules 3 and 4 where the line reaches north across Douglas Pass In the Ity of Rangely Colo on the western west ern slope of the great divide Working with the precision of a well-trained well army the crews ol of 01 veteran are clearing ditching preparing and Installing the pipe with peak efficiency during during dur ing the hot favorable construction construction construe tion weather Grand Junction Junction- even though Immersed Immersed immersed Im Im- mersed In the uranium boom has felt the economic impact of the pipeline project particularly In hotels hotels ho- ho motels restaurants and trans trens- But Dut the effect is even more ImOre evident In communities such as Rangely where supervisory and construction people live as the work progresses Approximately 1250 construction men are employed employ ed on each spread Including Fish Northwest personnel personnel personnel per per- and contractors' contractors construe construe- workers approximately 1600 people directly concerned With building this portion of the line arc are employed in the Grand Junction Junction Junction Junc Junc- tion division A wide range of skills and equip equipment ment can be seen on the Iho job Each spread operates on a production line technique with close coordInation coordination coordination coord coord- of each step necessary for smooth progress Contractors on adjoining spreads work toward each other thus assuring that if JC work on one spread slows stows down the one working toward it can continue continue con con- until the two join Sections of steel pipe from Consolidated Consolidated Consolidated Con Con- Western Steel corporations corporation's corporations corporation's corpora corpora- tion's plant at Provo are arc brought to rail sidings such as Mack Colo and there racked up for transshipment transshipment trans trans- shipment to the job by long trailer trucks On a typical spread pipe pipelining lining is divided into ten steps steps clearing clearing grading ditching stringing bending bending bend bend- ing welding priming coating and wrapping lowering and backfilling ling and cleanup Each step is inspected inspected in in- individually From front to back the work may extend for 20 miles The vanguard of each work schedule is the surveying and clearing crew that carefully prepares prepares pre pre- pares the way right-of-way clearing a narrow path for the ditching machine machine machine ma ma- chine which digs the trench into which the pipe is laid The ditcher a a wheel digging minimum of cuts the ditch with witha a muss and fuss the operator steering steerIng steer steer- Ing his course by sighting along stakes that have been set sel out by bythe bythe bythe the surveyors In places where the ditching wheel cannot operate the back hoe a like claw-like scoop shovel takes over completing the ditch Behind the ditchers the stringing stringing stringing string string- ing ing operation takes place It is this his crews crew's job to lay layout out enough but jut not too many of the foot 40 joints to produce the finished pipe- pipe line ine The sections weighing pounds each are strung along the ditch by side-boom side tractors Engineers then measure the contours contours con con- tours of every foot of the ditch marking each section of pipe for any necessary bends The bending machine a machine a portable press moved by jy tractors tractors bends bends each section to the exact degree or pitch or turn needed so the pipe will lie snug In n the ground Once strung along the he ditch and bent to proper shape the pipe Is ready for the all im welding operation Pipe is manufactured to exact dimensions with the ends of each Joint beveled 30 degrees to Insure a perfect fit Prior to being joined together in the field each beveled joint is buffed bufred and cleaned Pipeline Pipeline Pipeline Pipe Pipe- line welders welders the the best in the business busIness busness bus- bus Iness ness who pass exacting tests belore be be- before fore lore they get their Jobs jobs complete complete four lour operations which in pipe liner tern terminology are known as the t i j. j br a a C I 1 y x i BIG DIG SNAKE COMING Like a huge snake stretching across hill hili and valley the multi million I dollar lollar natural gas pipeline from the San Juan basin of New Mexico to the Pacific Northwest is drawing closer to Moab The pipe Is joined together welded wrapped and bent to the contour of the he earth before being placed into the ground Here lIere Is shown workmen wrapping the pipe In a protective pro pro- cover that will protect it ft from after being placed In the ground o k stringer bead hot pass filler bead and finish pass or cap The stringer bead joins the pipe together Then the hot pass and filler bead add necessary strength to each joint The finish pass or cap completes the weld Each weld is inspected visually and the welds are x-rayed x with reports going to Fish Northwest welding inspectors the same day Faulty welding is found round before the pipe goes into the ground Once welded the pipe begins t tto to take shape From an appearance of individual pieces of strung along the countryside it It- It changes to the shape of a snake The welded v pipe is put through a machine that cleans it and primes the metal surface with tar in one operation Then the wrapping machine machine machine ma ma- chine hauled by another cat applies a protective coating and wraps the pipe with spirals of glass fiber This protection insures long life liCe underground guarding against corrosion The pipe undergoes another in inspection inspection in in- before being laid in the t o y k ground Behind the wrappers come two men with a detector which for many years has been known among as the jeep The jeep shoots volts of electricity against the wrapped pipe Even a pinpoint of bare metal shows up and the wrapping is re re- re- re paired The wrapped pipe is lowered Into the ground is sections of approximately approximately approximately ap ap- ap- ap proximately 2500 feet reet with room being left lert for expansion and con con- traction Once in the ground the pipe is tied fled down at intervals with L' L o back fill to prevent movement Finally it is covered up or backfilled backfilled back filled ed using bulldozers and drag drag- lines Then in the wake of the backfilling come the cleanup crews crews I The ground over the burled buried pipe is carefully graded and every root stick and scrap of debris is re re- re- re moved Depending upon the land through which it passes the theIs ground is seeded re-seeded or otherwise repaired to return it to a condition condition condi condi- tion as good or better than it was before the ditch was made I |