Malcolm Gorrill
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Dec 21/01) - Two short sections of pipe may be laid in the Delta this winter for research purposes.

Representatives with Cimarron Engineering spoke on the proposal at a public meeting last week at Ingamo Hall.

Construction specialist John Jameson explained one evaluation section will take place on Harrison Island, in the Inuvialuit Settlement Region, about 30 kilometres north-northwest of Inuvik.

This section will be 1,000 metres long.

The other section will be 500 metres long, southeast of Campbell Creek in the Gwich'in Settlement Area.

The trenches will be excavated either by rocksaw pipeline trenchers able to excavate a 1.22-metre wide by 2.5-metre deep trench, or with backhoes. A section of 914 millimetre diameter pipe will be laid in, and then covered over.

John Jameson explained the work, if approved, will take place in February or March, and that several techniques will be used to see what works best in terms of covering over the pipe.

"Our object is to try and restore this land, as near as we can, to its original state," Jameson said.

"The whole object is to try to get something that will allow the thing to melt warmly as it would in summer, and allow it to freeze back down in the winter like it does here now."

The work will be carried out by ArctiGas Resources Group, on behalf of the Northern Route Gas Pipeline Corporation and the Northern Gas Pipeline Project.

NRGPC is proposing to construct the Canadian segment of a natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to a point near Edmonton.

Jameson explained the purpose of the tests are to gather data to be used in constructing a pipeline in the Inuvik region. The evaluation sections would be monitored for at least two years.