FORT SIMPSON - Transportation continues to be of concern for residents of Fort Simpson when discussing the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project.

Questions based on aspects of transportation were the focus for the nine people who attended the project update session held in Fort Simpson on March 28. The session presented the latest details about the segment of pipeline slated for the Deh Cho.

Ross Papirnick, a consultation and community affairs advisor with the Mackenzie Gas Project, emphasizes a point during a project update in Fort Simpson on the pipeline. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

A number of changes that have been made to the project will affect the Deh Cho. Many of these changes relate to the revised project cost of $16.2 billion announced on March 12.

The speed at which the pipeline will be installed has been slowed down, said Ross Papirnick, a consultation and community affairs advisor with the Mackenzie Gas Project.

The construction will now take place over three winter seasons instead of two. The slower speed reduces peak winter construction labour from 8,700 workers to about 6,200 and reduces total camp beds from over 13,000 to about 7,000. The change should provide additional employment opportunities and longer job duration for Northern workers, said Papirnick.

"We think this is a better thing for the North," he said.

The installation of the Loon River North and River Between Two Mountains compressor stations and the Trout River heater station have been delayed three years to approximately 2015. This is expected to provide additional and prolonged employment.

Truckloads travelling to sites in the Deh Cho Camp near Trout Lake - 2,200 over two seasons McGill storage site and camp - 3,400 over three seasons Liard ferry storage site - 2,250 over three seasons Camsell Bend camp - 3,700 over two seasons Ochre River - 1,300 over one season

Other changes include the elimination of the 425-person module assembly camp at Hay River and the relocation of the Trout Lake pipeline camp out of the K'e'otsee watershed to the site of the Trout River heater station. The location of the camp had been a concern for the residents of Trout Lake, said Papirnick. An additional result of the changes will be an overall increase in truck traffic.

Of the approximately 15,100 trucks that will cross the border between Alberta and the Northwest Territories, 12,000 will travel past Trout Lake towards Fort Simpson on Highway 1 over five years.

The levels of trucks won't be constant, said Papirnick. Most camps will only have one busy year as supplies are brought in.

"It's not like there are a lot of trucks on the road," said Papirnick.

Additionally, the roads have to be left in as good a condition or better than when they were first used, he said.

Kirby Groat questioned if the project would prefer to have the road paved. Groat said he'd like to put pressure on the government to get the highway to Fort Simpson paved.

From the standpoint of dust control a paved road would be nice, but otherwise Papirnick said he wasn't sure if it would make a difference.

Gerd Fricke questioned if the Liard River ferry and the Ndulee ferry have the capacity to handle that many trucks.

Papirnick said that was a good point because the truck traffic will move 24 hours a day while the ferry does not.

There is a possibility for a new camp in the Fort Simpson area.

A small camp might be placed on the Mackenzie River to house staff to do the horizontal directional drilling under the river. The camp will last a season or less, only as long as the drilling takes, said Papirnick.

The camp could mean business opportunities for the village, he said.