TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Enbridge Inc. said Thursday it could have a proposed oil pipeline tunnel built and operating beneath a crucial Great Lakes channel by early 2024, responding to demands from Michigan officials to expedite the shutdown of existing twin pipelines. Gretchen Whitmer a revised timeline for drilling the $500 million tunnel through bedrock beneath the Straits of Mackinac, the 4-mile-wide (6.4-kilometre-wide) channel linking Lakes Huron and Michigan. “Assuming we are able to move through the permitting process without delay, we believe the tunnel can be under construction in 2021 and in service as soon as early 2024,” Enbridge said in a statement. The letter to Whitmer, a Democrat, represents a firm pledge to meet the shorter time frame, company spokesman Michael Barnes said. We’re working on it.”Whitmer said without a fixed date for shutting down Line 5, Nessel was likely to take legal action.

Source: thestar May 30, 2019 21:11 UTC