Oil giant Enbridge has selected a team to design and construct a new oil pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to replace the deteriorating Line 5.

The Canadian company on March 6 announced that Great Lakes Tunnel Constructors, a partnership of Michigan tunnel construction firm Jay Dee Contractors Inc. and the U.S. affiliate of Japanese tunnelling contractor Obayashi Corp., will build the four-mile-long tunnel about 100 ft below the Lake Michigan lake bed. Arup will design the tunnel.

该管道的建设预计将于2021年开始，最多可能需要10年，并且耗资高达6.5亿美元。恩布里奇（Enbridge）表示，替换65年历史的管道还将包括一个公用事业走廊，用于持有电源线，光纤和其他公用事业。环保组织认为这条线是不必要的，并威胁了湖泊。

The administration of former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) approved legislation that paved the way for construction of the line, a move that was opposed last year by successor Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D).

However, she now is working with the company after the Michigan Court of Appeals in January rejected an attempt to stop construction of the line. But the court has yet to decide whether the law that established authority for Enbridge to build the tunnel is constitutional.

With the law still in effect and the state involved, the firm moved forward to hire the contractors and is pursuing permit applications.

Meanwhile, noting the global oil price drop, Andrew Wittmann, lead engineering and construction sector stock analyst for Baird Equity Research, said in a March 10 report that while “it’s still early and uncertain … lower oil prices could also degrade associated natural gas,” with capacity expansion cuts slowing drilling and demand for offtake.

他说：“我们怀疑已经开始建设的管道会完成的，但是计划中的管道会看到广泛的延误。”