Project will replace a 4,000-foot section of pipeline under the Mississippi River to enhance safety and integrity
JEFFERSON CITY—Gov. Jay Nixon today announced that Enbridge Inc. will invest approximately $23 million and create jobs to upgrade a 4,000-foot section of its Ozark Pipeline under the Mississippi River in north St. Louis. The project will enhance the safety and security of the Ozark Pipeline that runs from Oklahoma through Missouri en route to the Wood River refinery in Illinois.
“These pipelines boost North American energy independence and create jobs, and that’s why we have been proud to partner with Enbridge to ensure they are built safely, responsibly and with highly-skilled workers who know how to get the job done right,” Gov. Nixon said. “This project represents another example of how Missouri is leading the way toward greater North American energy independence from right here in the heartland.”
Gov. Nixon met with leading executives of Edmonton-based Enbridge Inc. during a trade mission to Alberta, Canada earlier this year.
Last year, Enbridge’s $2.8 billion Flanagan South pipeline, which also travels from Oklahoma to Illinois, was completed and went into service in December. It passes through 11 Missouri counties in the northern half of the state. The Flanagan South pipeline provides more than $8.7 million annually in local property taxes and created more than 1,600 jobs during its construction.
The new project on the Ozark Pipeline involves boring a tunnel under the Mississippi River from the Illinois side into Missouri. Workers will weld the pipe together on the Missouri side, which will then be pulled through the new tunnel. Most of the new jobs will be in Missouri where the pipe is welded together. The project will begin this week and is anticipated to be complete in January, 2016.
