Coastal GasLink (CGL) has significantly increased it’s workforce on the pipeline construction project according to the companies latest construction update. The numbers calculated at the end of June were 3,403 workers across the project as opposed to 1,627 from the end of May.
The report states that because there are more workers on site, they’ve seen a steady increase in all aspects of construction including pipe that has been laid across the project.
Section 6 of the pipeline is an 85 km stretch that is begins south of Burns Lake and ends south of Houston. According to CGL, 405 workers were stationed there as of June 30, all of whom are staying at the 7 Mile Lodge located south of Burns Lake and east of Hwy. 35. It’s an increase from the previous report that came out for the month of May, which had 238 workers staying at 7 Mile Lodge. The latest report says that 19 percent of the pipeline has been installed in section 6, and and 56 per cent of grading has been completed.
Section 7, which begins south of Houston and stretches 78 km to north of Morice Lake, has 89 per cent of the area cleared. Pipeline installation and grading have yet to begin along this portion of the pipeline. As per the CGL report, there were 230 workers at section 7 at the end of June. Workers along this section are staying at the Huckleberry Lodge south of Houston.
As for the project as a whole, 28.8 per cent of the construction progress and 44.8 per cent of the overall progress has been completed. Most of the clearing portion of the project is complete, with five of the eight sections having cleared 100 per cent of the required area, while the remaining three sections are all at 80 per cent or higher.
CGL has also said that they’ve put an emphasis on preventing wildfires in the latest report. Stating that they’ve been working with the B.C. government along with local first responders to ensure all their workers have the right measure, tools and fire prevention plans in place to prevent and stop any fire.
According to the most recent COVID-19 report from the CGL website, as of Aug. 2 there were two new cases among the workforce, upping the total amount to 96 since march 2020. In the previous month’s report, CGL stated that first and second doses of vaccines are continuing to be offered to employees at workforce lodges.
CGL plans to continue construction on the pipeline into the fall.