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Enbridge tabs contractors for Great Lakes Tunnel Project

April 16, 2020 By    

Enbridge Inc. selected two contractors for the Great Lakes Tunnel Project, as it looks to construct a tunnel to house a new Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac.

Mackinac Bridge photo

Mackinac Bridge. Photo: UWMadison/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

Line 5 is a 645-mile, 30-in.-diameter light crude and natural gas liquids pipeline that travels through Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas, originating in Superior, Wisconsin, and terminating in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. As it travels under the Straits of Mackinac, Line 5 splits into two 20-in.-diameter, parallel pipelines that are buried onshore and taper off deep underwater, crossing the Straits west of the Mackinac Bridge for a distance of 4.5 miles, the company explains. The line is a significant source of propane supply for Michigan and the surrounding regions.

Michigan-based Great Lakes Tunnel Constructors will construct the tunnel, according to Enbridge. Great Lakes Tunnel Constructors is a partnership between a Michigan tunnel construction firm, Jay Dee Contractors Inc., and the U.S. affiliate of Japanese tunnel construction firm, Obayashi Corp. Enbridge has also selected Arup, an engineering and consulting firm with large-scale infrastructure and tunnel design capabilities, to deliver construction design documentation for the project.

“The Great Lakes Tunnel Project is essential to Michigan’s economic vitality and long-term energy security,” says Brad Shamla, vice president of U.S. operations at Enbridge. “It will enable residents, schools and businesses to continue to receive critical fuel and the thousands of products Line 5 helps make possible while increasing environmental safeguards and protection of the Great Lakes.”

Enbridge anticipates construction of the Great Lakes Tunnel Project will begin in 2021. Following about two years of construction, Enbridge expects to place the new Line 5 segment into service in 2024.

*Featured photo: JamesBrey/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images

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About the Author:

Brian Richesson is the editor in chief of LP Gas Magazine. Contact him at brichesson@northcoastmedia.net or 216-706-3748.

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