Enbridge Energy will issue requests for proposals in the coming weeks for contractors to construct a $500-million Great Lakes Tunnel to carry crude oil and natural gas liquids through the Straits of Mackinac between Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.

Ryan Duffy, a spokesman for the Calgary, Alberta-based multinational energy company, said the RFP process will take about six months.

2月16日，麦基诺海峡走廊管理局同意员工建议，即恩布里奇满足公司与密歇根州2018年协议中规定的所有要求。

“Enbridge has assembled a world-class team for the project, Duffy said, and with the [authority] concurrence, added that the firm "is prepared to issue the RFP to select a construction contractor to build this critical utility infrastructure modernization project."

The Tunnel Agreement between the state and Enbridge calls for the company to start construction within 180 days of receiving a construction permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps is still performing an environmental review.

RFP指出，潜在承包商应考虑在2024年第一季度之前开始建造大约四英里的隧道。据估计，工作至少需要四年。

Arup is the design engineer.

第5行船只pe 540000桶r day of crude oil and refined products from Superior, Wis., to Sarnia, Ontario, via the Straits.

该协议于2018年下半年达成的密歇根州州长里克·斯奈德（Rick Snyder）（R）要求该公司在海峡下面建造隧道，以包含第5行的新部分，这是环保主义者作为管道的目标，危害了危险五大湖。

目前的68岁的双管道沿着湖底延伸，除了自己的防护涂料外，没有其他保护。即使是恩布里奇（Enbridge）也承认，按照管道，需要更换管道。密歇根州立法机关通过了替换隧道的交易，并在他的政府的最后几天由斯奈德签署。

现任州长格雷琴Whitmer (D)引用的安全environmental concerns as reasons behind her attempt in November 2020 to revoke a permit that allows Enbridge to operate the pipeline.

Michigan and Enbridge have been at loggerheads over the pipeline practically since her administration began in 2019.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Whitmer both filed lawsuits seeking to shut down Line 5 in 2020. Enbridge countered with its own lawsuit to keep it open. Whitmer eventually dismissed her federal lawsuit, but a hearing on Nessel's federal case against the company still awaits a hearing. Whitmer now says the matter should be resolved in state court.

Lynsey Mukomel, press secretary for Nessel, declined to comment on the lawsuit or on Enbridge moving forward with the RFP process. A spokesperson for the governor’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Duffy said the company is eager to advance the tunnel project in which it has invested more than $100 million to date.

他说：“恩布里奇仍然非常专注于获得构建该项目所需的许可证。”“虽然我们这样做，但Enbridge致力于第5行的持续安全操作，并证明了我们在海峡中加强安全措施的承诺，其中包括对船舶交通的24/7监测。”

Enbridge received the easement to build Line 5 under the Straits in 1953.

Duffy said the Great Lakes Tunnel will be a step forward in safety. “Placing the pipeline in a new Great Lakes Tunnel will provide extra layers of safety and environmental protection ... while creating Michigan jobs and securing the energy consumers in Michigan and the region rely on every single day to live their lives and fuel the economy,” he said.

第5行protective coating2018年，一艘船将12,000磅的锚定在海峡中并撞到结构时受到损害。

This story was updated March 6 to state the Line 5 Tunnel would run across the Straits of Mackinac from Michigan's upper to lower peninsulas. An earlier version said one side would extend to Ontario, Canada.