Gas pipeline work could be near

Mariner East 2 project is expected to create thousands of jobs

Local construction on a natural gas pipeline, which will eventually stretch across Pennsylvania, could begin in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, construction continues in Huntingdon County, where workers are boring under Raystown Lake.

The underground, natural-gas pipeline, dubbed Mariner East 2, is being constructed by workers employed by Sunoco Logistics.

Sunoco officials have planned for a 300-mile pipeline to carry natural gas liquids from beyond the state's western border to a storage and distribution facility in Delaware County's Marcus Hook area, company spokesman Jeff Shields said.

Along the way, the pipeline will pass through Blair, Cambria and Huntingdon counties, and locally, construction could begin in the next few weeks, Shields said.

"We are not scheduled to begin construction in Blair County until probably next month," Shields said.

Still, Sunoco contractors are already present in Blair County, lodged in an Altoona hotel. That's because work has begun in neighboring Huntingdon County.

There, workers must bore beneath Raystown Lake to prepare a passage for the pipeline, said Cynthia Mitchell, public affairs specialist with the Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the lake and surrounding land.

Mitchell said work began in Huntingdon County last month.

"That will be ongoing at least until mid-May," she said.

At that point, construction will be halted per an agreement between the Army Corps of Engineers and Sunoco.

Mitchell said the pause was requested because the lake is a popular tourist destination during the summer months, and Corps of Engineers officials worried construction could detract from the lake's natural aesthetic.

"We wanted to have as little impact on the recreating public as possible," she said.

Following the busy recreation season, work near the lake will resume and continue into the fall, Mitchell said.

"I believe the last portion of this is schedule to be completed right around October of this year," she said.

The project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs, and, when completed, it is expected that the pipeline will transport 275,000 barrels of natural gas liquids per day, according to a Mirror report from January 2015.

That natural gas will flow through Blair County, as Sunoco plans show the pipeline passing through Juniata, Allegheny, Blair, Frankstown and Woodbury townships.

Blair Township Supervisor Palmer Brown said road inspections have already been conducted within the township.

"It's going to be awhile before they get here, I'd imagine," he said.

Officials from the other affected townships reported similar inspections.

The pipeline will cross a portion of land owned by Brown. In all, project leaders estimated the pipeline will affect more than 100 properties.

That is a point that has caused some concern during the planning process, which took place over the past few years. In 2015, a Blair Township resident, who owns 80 acres that could be affected by the pipeline, shared those concerns.

"I really don't like the idea," he said at that time.

Despite those feelings, construction workers soon will build in the area, Shields said.

"We've tried to be proactive and talk to the townships, as well as the landowners," Shields said.

Pipeline construction will be conducted in multiple locations simultaneously, he said. Construction workers will work toward one another and will connect the pipeline when they meet, Shields said.

A projected completion date was not available earlier this month.

Mirror Staff Writer Sean Sauro is at 946-7535.