Blame East Coast snow for price at our gas pumps

Published 10:40 pm Sunday, February 14, 2010

Just when gas prices were taking a nice little drop, last week they started going back up again.

Oil traders saw the cold and snow slamming the East Coast, figured the demand for heating oil would rise and raised wholesale petroleum prices 10 percent to 15 percent, said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, a national Web site that tracks gasoline prices.

The average price in the Seattle area as of Sunday was $2.78, according to seattlegasprices.com, the local version of the GasBuddy site. Prices stabilized on Friday after spending most of the week increasing.

Though relatively few households in the Northwest use oil for heat, the production of heating oil diverts refinery space away from making gasoline and diesel, DeHaan said.

The price drop in January also was weather related, with temperatures in much of the nation warmer than normal, DeHaan said.

For more information on gas prices, check www.seattlegasprices.com.

Helen Smith of Camano Island writes: For a number of months I have been concerned about the southbound I-5 bridge overpass in Marysville near exit 198 (to Highway 529 to Everett). This heavily traveled bridge has missing, broken pieces of metal between all concrete sections. I worry about the integrity of structural support and tire damage from these worn metal strips. Has it been inspected lately, and is it on a list for repair anytime soon?

Bronlea Mishler, spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, responds: Our bridge crews inspected this bridge recently and agree with you that some of the metal expansion joints are in rough condition and should be repaired. The bridge itself, however, is structurally just fine.

Bridge crews are planning to make repairs to the expansion joints this summer, when the weather is warm and dry. They need good weather to cut out some of the concrete and damaged steel and pour new concrete near the bridge expansion joints.

Mimi Randall of Arlington writes: The block of Columbia Avenue behind the post office in Marysville is in terrible need of paving, to say the least.

The potholes have been filled countless times and they stay filled for just a few days, then the gunk is knocked out.

Why has State Avenue been paved so many times, and Columbia completely neglected? This is a busy street, not only for the postal trucks and post office traffic, but for the people who live there. Also there is a high-volume, drive-by mailbox located on that same block.

John Cowling, assistant city engineer for Marysville, responds: The city considers many issues in deciding when to overlay a street, which include roadway type, necessity of replacing underground utilities and extent of repairs necessary. Columbia Avenue has a cast-iron water main and shallow sewer that would need to be replaced prior to permanent roadway work to avoid cutting through new asphalt to replace utilities. Additionally, due to the current condition, roadway restoration beyond a simple overlay would be required. With limited funds and increased material costs, the city has to focus maintaining its principal arterial system to ensure we do not experience failures on the city’s highest used roads.

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