Seventy-four kilometres of the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMX) is ready in the region, including the 12 km stretch that runs through Clearwater.
Trans Mountain engagement manager Kate Stebbings, presented construction progress to the district council on Feb. 21, alongside construction manager MJ Zimmerman.
When Stebbings first presented the plan for TMX’s construction to Clearwater’s district council nearly a decade ago, the original timeline indicated construction would be complete in 2017 before several delays extended the timeline.
“Spread 4B is done, and it feels very very nice to say that,” she told the council.
Oil may be flowing by the end of the year if the project is mechanically complete when anticipated at the end of September, Stebbings said. As of now, more than 75 per cent of the total construction for TMX is complete, according to the presentation.
“We’re the first spread to be mechanically complete. That means, if the oil was available north of Vavenby [we could transport it] down to Darfield station, we could do it. That is where we are at,” Zimmerman told council.
Banister Pipelines was one of the companies contracted to build TMX, which is the oldest and most experienced construction company in Canada, Zimmerman said.
Throughout construction, project leadership trained more than 85 workers who had never worked in the industry before, Zimmerman added.
TMX’s community benefits agreement with Clearwater allocates $390,000 to support local projects and education in town, according to Stebbing’s presentation.
Additional benefits to the community include $3.1 million to upgrade Clearwater’s water, wastewater and sewage systems, according to Trans Mountain. During construction, Trans Mountain paid more than $170,000 in local sponsorships.
Trans Mountain anticipates it will pay more than $900,000 in local taxes each year once TMX is in operation.
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