Pipeline construction in the Greater Edmonton area has successfully wrapped up, marking completion of the first section of pipeline construction on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project. In late 2019, construction crews began working on this portion of the Project, which included 50 kilometres of pipeline running from Trans Mountain’s Edmonton Terminal in Sherwood Park to Acheson, Alberta.

“This is an important milestone for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project, made possible by the hard work and dedication of some 900 workers, and our Indigenous and local business partners. It has taken many years of planning and preparation to ensure this portion of the job was delivered while respecting the environment and communities around us,” said Ian Anderson, President and CEO of Trans Mountain Corporation.

The work scope included installation of 48,762 metres of pipe, 14 horizontal directional drills, 472 tie-ins and took 1.5 million person-hours of work to complete.

“Trans Mountain is proud of the work completed with our contractors who share our values of safety, integrity and quality,” added Anderson. “We were also able to maximize the benefits from the Project for Indigenous and local communities with 22 per cent of the workforce on this spread being Indigenous and $57 million in contracts awarded to 42 Indigenous businesses.”

Trans Mountain has community benefit agreements with the local governments in the area with $475,000 dedicated to local, community projects that will provide lasting legacies for the residents of the City of Edmonton and Strathcona County.

Work continues at our Edmonton Terminal, pump stations and on the other spreads and facilities of the Expansion Project. Overall, as of January 8, 2022, construction on the Expansion Project is more than 45 per cent complete and inclusive of pre-construction activities, the Expansion Project exceeded 55 per cent overall progress.

Construction is currently accelerating on the pipeline portions in the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland of BC. Work on some of the major portions of the Project, including the Burnaby Mountain Tunnel and Westridge and Burnaby Terminals are all past the half-way point in construction. As of December 31, 2021, there were approximately 12,700 people working on the Project.

While the pipeline construction phase in Greater Edmonton is complete, there are still several steps before that section of the pipe is ready for operations and some continued activities will be visible in the area such as reclamation and seeding. In accordance with the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) Act, companies require permission from the CER through a process called “Leave to Open.” This process requires results from a series of testing, inspections and safety information that demonstrate the pipeline and associated facilities can be safely opened for operation.