GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - Last year, owners of all 5 of Gridley’s existing gas and service stations were up in arms about the potential Arco AM/PM gas station set to be erected at 1646 Hwy 99. Regardless of their objections and petitions protesting the new gas station, the Gridley Planning Commission approved the developer’s request to build. Permits for the underground gas tanks and canopies were approved by county, and buildings on the premises were demolished with progress towards groundbreaking being quickly made. Then nothing happened.

The cleared lot sat empty for nearly a year and attempts to contact the developers yielded no information about the stalled development.

Over the last few weeks, the location has seen a flurry of activity. Heavy earthmoving equipment and crews from Savidge Construction Inc. have arrived onsite. This week they have been observed working mostly below the surface, being tasked with excavating an 18' deep pit to prepare the foundations for the fuel holding tanks.

The process is technical and can be dangerous for the crews. According to Savidge Construction Inc. Site Supervisor Dennis Parikka, who will see the project through to its completion, the two huge fiberglass tanks that will hold the fuel for the facility are placed on pilings and then fastened into place by fittings that wrap around the tanks. On Monday, the two tanks, one a 25–thousand-gallon tank intended for unleaded fuel and one a split 22—thousand-gallon tank for premium and diesel fuels, were lifted and set into place by crane.

Then it was up to Savidge crew members to climb down into the abyss to begin the process of securing them in place. Though the tanks are huge, they are also very lightweight. Parikka shared that since we are in close proximity to the river and the water table is high, crews hit water about 12 feet down. “We have to pump the water out of the pit or else the tanks will actually float away,” he said. After the tanks are secured, the pit will be backfilled with gravel and the next phase of construction will begin. 

According to Parikka, we should have the prefabricated fuel canopy from Madison Industries going up in the next three weeks, followed by the construction of the main convenience store foundation and carwash. The last phase of construction will be threading the 16 fueling stations to the subterranean tanks.

In regard to the delay in construction, Parikka conveyed that budget changes at the corporate level put the project on hold while Arco focused on other higher priority projects. As long as the weather cooperates with construction crews, Gridley can expect to see the new Arco AM/PM station open March of 2020.