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Two excavators installing large pipes along a roadside, with construction cones and utility poles visible.Two excavators installing large pipes along a roadside, with construction cones and utility poles visible.

Hardening New Jersey’s coastal gas network 

After superstorm Sandy exposed major vulnerabilities, New Jersey Natural Gas (NJNG) strengthened its system with a new pipeline to protect customers from storm outages. 

Client

New Jersey Natural Gas

Location

Ocean County, New Jersey

Connect with an expert

Tanzi_David_2024.jpg
David Tanzi PE, BCEE
Senior Project Manager

NJNG boosts system resiliency with a new pipeline beneath Barnegat Bay 

Superstorm Sandy caused severe damage along New Jersey’s coast, revealing risks to natural gas infrastructure serving more than 500,000 customers. NJNG launched the $102.5M New Jersey Reinvestment in System Enhancements (NJ RISE) program to add durability, redundancy, and stability to the distribution network.  

Designing a bay-crossing pipeline 

A 12-inch steel pipeline was installed 60 feet under Barnegat Bay, creating a storm-resilient link to the barrier islands. 

Overcoming complex site limits   

Teams navigated sensitive environments and identified suitable staging areas for 3K feet of continuous pipe.

Precise horizontal directional drilling (HDD) engineering 

Route analysis, geotechnical surveys, and detailed HDD design ensured operations were completed safely and efficiently.

Protecting workers and communities 

Winter construction required tight coordination and planning, resulting in zero safety incidents and uninterrupted service. 

With the pipeline now in place, NJNG’s network is more resilient to extreme weather and better equipped to maintain continuous service. The project avoided impacts to sensitive areas, met tight seasonal restrictions, and delivered a secure bay-crossing link. As project manager David Tanzi said, the 60-foot-deep pipeline “is very protected and should withstand storm events for many years to come.” 

Curious to learn more?

Connect with an expert to find out how we delivered this project.

Tanzi_David_2024.jpg

David Tanzi

Senior Project Manager

David provides project management and engineering services for a wide range of authorities and municipalities, including water treatment, transmission and distribution.

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