Project Profile: Salinas Arco Fuel System Replacement
Salinas, California
It’s a rare enough occurrence when rain delays a CGRS project in sunny California, but 40 days’ worth of rain – and delays – is unheard of in the drought-stricken state.
Yet that’s exactly what our California crew experienced when it took on the Salinas Arco gas station’s fuel system replacement: it rained so much in the first couple of months of 2019 that it pulled the state out of a five-year drought.
While that’s great news for California, it wasn’t for our customer: the City of Salinas’ grading permit dictates no excavation can occur during rain events, and tank top fiberglass sumps and fuel piping should not be installed during that time, either. That means the CGRS crew had to stand by, waiting, a total of 40 days for the inclement weather to pass.
The project had already taken a while to get off the ground, with CGRS first receiving a call for help to locate the cause behind ongoing alarms and leaks in recent years at the gas station in April 2018. Several other companies had tried to identify and correct the issues but failed, when the owner finally called the enhanced leak detection experts at CGRS.
Our team diagnosed the underground piping issues causing the alarms and designed a solution to bring the site back into compliance: a total fuel system replacement. And while CGRS was not the low bidder, our on-point diagnosis had proven our capability already and the customer asked us to do the job. Nearly nine months after that first call, with funding and permits in hand at last, CGRS’s crew was ready to get to work in early January.
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800.288.2657
Matt Thomas
California Construction/
Compliance Manager
Mobile: 626.627.8316
But then … it rained … and rained … and rained.
What should have taken three months stretched into nearly five soggy months. Our crew finally wrapped up the job on May 31. The project consisted of:
- Removing all failing underground fuel lines
- Installing all new fuel lines and equipment
- Placing of 9,600 square feet of 3,000 psi reinforced concrete
- Removing and replacing 10 dispensers
- Performed Enhanced Leak Detection using CGRS’s patented iota® system to ensure the quality of the new piping
Despite the obstacles, the CGRS team did meticulous work – so much so that the local inspector invited other inspectors to observe what a fuel system installed correctly looks like.
A few days after the fuel was flowing again, setbacks unrelated to the construction process occurred, requiring another shutdown of the dispensers. CGRS helped the customer with identifying and repairing the issues, as well. However, the convenience store remained open 24/7 during the construction project as well as the ensuing investigation and repairs. Now that the dispensers are up and operating again, the business is running like clockwork: no leaks, no alarms, no fines.
And it is sunny once again in California … and for Salinas Arco.
