A gas line replacement project is bringing slow downs to Elm Street in

PITTSFIELD — A Berkshire Gas Company line replacement project on Elm Street has traffic slow rolling through one of the city’s busiest roadways.

Late last month, contractors began work replacing an aging natural gas line that runs under the northbound lane of Elm Street from Meadow Lane to High Street, according to a company spokesperson.

The line is being replaced by a plastic gas main, which the company says will “mean far less excavation in the future, as plastic requires less maintenance and does not corrode and cause leaks.”

The goal is to have the main line replacement project completed by early September and subsequent replacement projects on side streets off of Elm Street completed by mid-October.

The spokesperson said the work isn’t isolated to Pittsfield, but is part of ongoing “systemwide replacement of aging infrastructure” in the 20 communities in which Berkshire Gas operates.

For commercial residents little of the context was front of mind. The slow moving traffic, long hours of drilling and hammering and blocking of business entrances was more at the forefront.

At Angelina’s Submarine Shop at 133 Elm St., staff said the pipe project was “annoying” to say the least. Customer traffic had slowed down to a crawl early in the week as contractors worked on a section of pipe in front of the business, blocking the sandwich shop’s main vehicle entrances.

Next door at the dentistry practice of Dr. Paul Gamache, staff member Sheila Barnes said the work had been “chaotic.” She said work on the line has been shaking the building, which hasn’t been the calm experience patients are looking for when they’re in for a teeth cleaning or tooth drilling.

“It is what it is, we’ll just make the best of it,” Barnes said.