Ask ELi: What’s Going on at Burcham and Hagadorn?

ELi is a public service, nonprofit, local news organization, and one service we provide is getting answers to readers’ questions.

A reader wrote in recently to ask: “What is the nature of the utility work that has been going on for a few weeks at the NE corner of Hagadorn and Burcham? Once completed, what will be different? How much longer will the work be going on? Will there be any landscaping remediation to the construction site to hide the large industrial looking pipes and other things that have been installed?”

People driving by the area have noticed that a big old tree was removed and that the area has been pretty torn-up, with big pipes being installed.

We contacted East Lansing’s Department of Public Works to ask what’s going on, and engineer Nicole McPherson responded to let us know that’s a Consumers Energy project. So, we then asked Terry DeDoes, Senior Public Information Director for Consumers Energy, to answer our reader’s questions.

DeDoes answered, “We are upgrading an existing natural gas regulation station at that site. Our plans, which were approved by the City [of East Lansing], include a new building.”

What’s it all for?

“The facility reduces the pressure of natural gas from high to medium pressure, and the upgrade will increase the natural gas capacity for customers in the area,” explains DeDoes. “We plan to have the project completed the first week of September.”

As for what it will ultimately look like, “There will be landscaping and a black fence around the station; the site should be more attractive than before the work began.”

Photos by Raymond Holt. Have a question you’d like ELi to try to answer? Contact us!