Staff writer
TransCanada representative Tommy Darnell presented a haul route agreement to Florence City Council Tuesday night.
The agreement presents an ambiguous plan, according to Florence’s attorney Marilyn Wilder, to compensate Florence for damage the approximately 70,000-pound trucks will inflict on city streets.
“We know that we’re going to accelerate the deterioration of roads,” Darnell said.
In any agreement, pipeline officials would cut Florence a check after all the pipe is delivered.
Wilder will review the deal and present options to the City Council in a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Wilder plans to beef up the language for Florence’s protection; she wants the deal to explicitly state that TransCanada will pay a reasonable amount to fix roads. Wilder will also specify a route for the trucks to take, and call cities and counties that Keystone has worked with to find out how quickly and adequately they were compensated.
But, Darnell said pipe could arrive in Florence as soon as today giving City Council little time with which to work.
The council seemed to prefer that loaded trucks take Fifth Street to avoid brick sections on Main Street.
Darnell said TransCanada will likely run five trucks from the railroad loading point, next to the Florence Elevator, to a pipe yard on 290th Street 10 times a day, five days a week, through Florence for four to six weeks. The trucks will then take a 30-day break before going for another four to six weeks of nearly constant hauling.
If the council decides to forego the haul route, city officials could force trucks to be weighed to make sure they meet weight requirements or require the 96-foot long trucks to get a permit for the excessive length.
The city could also sue TransCanada for damaged roads, “which would cost city a lot of money and a lot of time while the streets are messed up,” Wilder said.