Pipeline shutdown in Alabama could send gas prices higher 

DALLAS (AP) — Motorists in the Southeast and East could pay more for gasoline in coming days because of the shutdown of a leaking pipeline in Alabama.

Experts say, however, that any spike in service-station prices should only be temporary.

Colonial Pipeline Co. said Friday that it doesn’t expect to fully reopen its primary gasoline pipeline until next week.

It is one of two major pipelines that connect more than two dozen refineries in Texas and Louisiana with cities in the East, from Atlanta to New York. The Colonial pipeline provides nearly 40 percent of the region’s gasoline and usually runs at or near full capacity.

Prices on futures contracts for wholesale gasoline rose about 2 percent Friday to $1.46 a gallon after rising 5 percent on Thursday.

Colonial said that supply disruptions would be felt first in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.