Gas stations were packed and motorists frustrated last week when news of a broken gas supply line caused Valley residents to flock to the pumps.
While most of the frenzy has subsided, gas delivery to Phoenix has been slowed as the main pipeline is being repaired.
Tom Bannigan, president of Kinder Morgan's Products Pipelines, detailed the plan that will allow gas to travel through a pipeline from Tucson until the 8-inch pipe, damaged in late July, is repaired.
For the duration of the repair work, gas will bypass the broken area of pipe by being diverted through a second 6-inch pipe that normally carries gas from Phoenix to Tucson.
The East line will only carry about 35,000 barrels a day. Phoenix will receive 183,000 barrels each day, up from the normal 175,000 barrels, in order to offset the shortage.
The 8-inch pipeline that carries gas from Tucson to Phoenix was shut off Aug. 8 after a July 30 rupture spilled 10,000 gallons of gas in southern Arizona. However, most Valley motorists did not feel the full effect of the supply problem until Aug. 17, when news of the broken pipeline sent Valley residents rushing to gas stations to fill up their tanks.
The refueling frenzy created long lines at the pumps and periodic gas shortages that frustrated Tempe residents, including ASU students.
Junior Rob Hayes said he had been in three or four 30-minute lines in the past week, trying to fill up his tank so he could travel between Tempe and Scottsdale.
Even Saturday, after most of the lines had disappeared, Hayes had problems getting gas when a station ran out of premium unleaded as he was pumping. Hayes said he would have to drive around until he found another open station to finish refueling.
"It's just an inconvenience," he said.
Sophomore Jessica Ripplinger had a different solution to the problem of filling her tank last week: She waited until midnight to get in line for gas.
"It wasn't too bad, only 15 minutes," Ripplinger said.
Despite the long lines and temporary shortages, most gas station workers said they actually had plenty of gas. While some stations did not see as many gasoline trucks as normal, most stations reported having a normal or greater-than-normal supply of gasoline.
The Chevron station at Rural Road and Apache Boulevard had four trucks deliver gas last week, two more than it usually does. However, the station still had periods when the pumps were dry.
Chevron workers attributed this to unusual behavior by motorists. Attendant Matt Worden explained that most motorists usually wait until they have less than half a tank of gas before refueling, which was not the case last week.
"Most of the tanks we were filling were half full," Worden said.
Stations had depended on gas from a second pipeline that runs from Los Angeles and trucks traveling between Tucson and Phoenix to meet demand while the pipe was non-operational.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Reach the reporter at amanda.keim@asu.edu.
