Construction could begin as early as March on a connection linking LaGrange to a major natural gas pipeline.

The 12.5 mile link to Transcontinental Gas Pipeline, also known as Transco, will prepare the city for the start of production at Kia Motors next year, according to city manager Tom Hall. Once production begins at the auto plant in West Point, its estimated annual usage will be 30 percent to 40 percent of the city’s current gas supply.

Transco is one of the nation’s most extensive pipelines, covering 10,500 miles from Texas to New York. The city’s current pipeline connects to Southern Natural Gas or Sonat, pipeline which covers 8,000 miles.

The new pipeline connection would cost anywhere from $6.5 million to $7.5 million and would tie the city’s current line, which runs from West Point to Grantville, farther north through Coweta County to Transco. LaGrange City Council approved the expansion Tuesday at its final regular meeting of 2008.

“The council discussed several options and agreed that this was the most cost-efficient choice,” city utilities director Patrick Bowie said. “If for some reason the actual cost of construction differed than what we estimated it to be, then we would go back and discuss another option with the council sometime in mid to late February,” Bowie said.

Another factor includes a bilateral contractual agreement between the city and Kia Motors, Bowie said.

One of council’s concerns was the risk should Kia decide to delay or reduce production.

“There will be provisions in the contract to ensure that existing customers are protected,” Bowie said. “We will ensure that any additional expenses solely related to Kia will be Kia’s responsibility.”

The connection would offer two pipeline feeds to Grantville, Hogansville, LaGrange and West Point. Each city currently relies on only one pipeline and could possibly be out of gas for several days if the line was damaged, Bowie said.

“Either line could potentially provide the city’s gas every day of the year if something happened to the other one,” he said.

Another benefit of the connection would be potential customers in rural spots of Coweta County, which the line would cover.

“There’s really no one there right now,” Bowie said. “But who knows what could happen within the next 10 to 15 years. There are definitely some good economic possibilities.”

Kenneth Thompson can be reached at kethompson@lagrangenews.com or (706) 884-7311, Ext. 228.