A 600-mile oil pipeline is nearing completion in Illinois. When it's done, the Flanagan South project from Canada-based Enbridge is expected to carry 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day. It crosses several states, starting near Pontiac, Illinois to a hub in Cushing, Oklahoma.
Construction began in August of 2013. Enbridge spokeswoman Katie Lange says the pipeline should be in service by the summer.
"In the Illinois area though, we already have much of it completed as far as clearing the grading, the trenching, and lowering in the pipe. The main areas that are left are restoration where we are putting the topsoil back over and filling in seeding, etc," Lange said.
Lange says many of the regions along the pipeline experienced extremely low temperatures this winter.
"Those frozen soil conditions are making it more difficult for Enbridge to continue those restoration activities. However, that doesn't hinge on the in-service date around that mid-2014 date," Lange said.
The Sierra Club and National Wildlife Federation filed a lawsuit over the pipeline project. The Sierra Club asked a judge to halt construction in the meantime, but that request was denied.
Several environmental groups take issue with the permitting process for the Flanagan South pipeline. Unlike the Keystone XL pipeline, Flanagan South does not go outside of the United States.
