Calgary (Globe and Mail/Reuters/Rod Nickel) – The end of construction and blasting is almost over.
Trans Mountain will finish building the final segment of its Canadian oil pipeline expansion in April, according to a construction schedule the corporation filed on Monday with a regulator.
The Canadian government-owned $34-billion pipeline expansion will nearly triple the flow of crude from Alberta to Canada’s Pacific Coast to 890,000 barrels per day, but has been plagued by years of delays, construction problems and cost overruns.
Spread 5-B is the last segment to complete and Trans Mountain’s schedule filed to the Canada Energy Regulator shows construction and testing wrapping up this month.
Trans Mountain said last month it has started filling its expanded pipeline in a staged process, but still faced technical challenges.
The pipeline, scheduled to be in service in the second quarter, is expected to raise Canadian crude prices just as producers boost production.
Crews have already left sites in the Fraser Valley including the distance between Hope and Chilliwack along Highway 1. Kinkora Golf Course and Ledgeview Golf have re-opened.
