And this amount is increasing all the time in length and in width, says James Lambert, community relations manager for Kansas Gas Service, Leavenworth.

There’s nothing wrong with the system as it is, Lambert said. But with additional housing going up in the area, the current system could be pushed to the max.

That’s why, in some areas of town, such as the recent work done along Main Street near the swimming pool, the gas company is upgrading 2-inch lines to 4 inches, Lambert said.

“As Tonganoxie grows to the east, with the new subdivisions out there, we’re changing some things just so the system will better be able to handle the increased load of gas,” Lambert said.

Included in the future of the town’s gas service update will eventually be a new border station and a district regulator on the northeast side of town, Lambert said.

“This will help compensate for bringing those new developments on line,” Lambert added.

Work is also being done this week along Fifth Street, where, again, the 2-inch lines are being replaced by 4-inch lines.

Chris Eppley, city administrator, said he thought most, if not all, of the gas lines in Tonganoxie have been replaced at one time or another, and said he thought they were all plastic pipe. The renovation, he said, is an ongoing process to increase the flow and volume of gas to keep pace with the city’s growth.

Butch Rodgers, public works director, agreed, and said the gas company informs him wherever they plan to upgrade natural gas lines.

“They’re in contact with me all the time,” Rodgers said.

And they’re likely to remain so for quite a while.

“Here recently, the town’s been growing like crazy,” Lambert said. “For years, it stayed the same size, but now with the racetrack coming in and Basehor becoming a booming area as far as development and with people coming even farther west to Tonganoxie, the needs are changing.”