Claxton agrees to expand gas line to new Hyundai plant

CLAXTON, Ga. (WTOC) - Claxton city leaders recently signed an agreement with Hyundai to build a gas pipeline for Metaplant America in Bryan County.

The new pipes will add capacity along Claxton’s gas line that runs near Hyundai’s construction site.

Even though Claxton is nearly 30 miles away, the city’s mayor says the impact from this expansion will be immediate. Claxton leaders are hoping that expansions to their gas lines fuel future growth.

The city recently signing an agreement with Hyundai to add capacity to an existing city-owned pipeline to bring natural gas to the automaker’s Metaplant.

“When Hyundai bought the property in that area, we started talking about negotiating with them to build additional capacity to be able to supply the Hyundai plant itself,” Claxton Mayor Terry Branch said.

According to maps from the project’s engineer, the 8-mile section of the pipeline runs along Highways 80 and 280.

A new 12-inch line will be added to existing 4-inch pipes along Highway 80.

From there, 8-inch lines will be installed along 280, eventually delivering gas to the Hyundai site.

The project is expected to cost roughly $14 million.

According to the agreement, Hyundai will pay roughly $10 million of it, with Claxton responsible for the rest.

“The facility will be funded by additional businesses, industries that we’re adding on, so that’ll take care of the cost of the project itself,” Branch said.

Mayor Branch said Claxton is also getting help from the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia.

Ultimately, he said the line expansion will pave the way for more growth once the Hyundai plant opens.

“It’ll let us immediately benefit from all the growth and activity going on in the state. We see the need for more housing. So, housing comes people, comes services, comes retail activities. So, it’s going to be a plus for us,” Branch said.

The city says they’ll keep their current pipeline operational.

Mayor Branch said the line should have the expanded capacity needed to service the Hyundai site by January of next year.

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