Those passing by the Gulf Oil gas station near Boothbay Center have likely noticed the huge backhoe digging into the ground near the gas pumps, and the blocked off entrance on the northern side of the station.

The station is replacing the gas tanks that house the fuel underneath the pumps. According to director of retail for this station, Dutch Holland, this needs to be done at every station once every 30 years.

“They are due,” Holland said.

They are placing the new tanks on the northern side of the fuel island. The new tanks are wider than the previous ones, as they are double-walled to meet current standards in the industry. The old tanks are located on the southern end of the island, so fuel will remain available at the station for as long as possible and will only be down for two or three days.

“The side they are in now is all ledge,” Holland said. “They should have been on the other side to begin with, so this is a good opportunity to correct that. And it will allow us to remain open longer.”

Holland is not sure what days they will be unavailable for fuel, and that it depends on the contractors (A.L. Doggett from Gray).

Another change is that diesel fuel will be available on the island now, instead of a separate pump as it is currently. Also the gas pumps themselves are being replaced.

“The new pumps will be faster and newer,” Holland said. “We're only going to be down for a couple of days because we are able to do all the work first, all we will have to do at the end is hook up the new pumps to the new tanks and we'll be all set.”

The Clipper Mart and Subway will be remaining open during the entire process, with no disruption in services. The entire process should take around two weeks to complete, if all goes as scheduled. The management thanks customers for their understanding while the renovations are taking place.