Fueling Minnesota Communities
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Construction
The MinnCan Project route traverses approximately 304 miles of central Minnesota. The northern portion of the route – more than 40 percent of its total length – follows the existing Minnesota Pipe Line Company system, which begins in Clearbrook and extends south-southeast to the Twin Cities. To avoid heavy commercial and residential developments – as well as other environmental impact areas – the route’s southern half is west and south of the Twin Cities until the pipeline reaches the Flint Hills Resources Refinery in Rosemount, Minnesota, in Dakota County. At that point, the route connects directly to the Flint Hills Resources Refinery and through existing pipeline facilities to the Marathon Petroleum Company’s St. Paul Park Refinery. MinnCan Project construction began in August 2007 in select areas. Please see the construction map which illustrates the three phases of MinnCan Project construction. The pipeline is expected to be operational in 2008. The contractors were carefully selected by Minnesota Pipe Line and are required to meet the company’s highest standards for safety and environmental stewardship. Construction crews typically average one mile per day, although weather and the uniqueness of the land affect the duration of pipeline construction. Each landowner will experience intermittent activity on his or her property over an estimated period of six weeks from right-of-way grading to clean up. Following are the key components of the construction process*
For more information about the construction process, view the construction sequence diagram. * These photos represent the construction process, but not necessarily activities that have occurred specifically on the MinnCan Project. The contractors selected to build the pipeline are Henkel’s & McCoy, Inc. (H&M) and Minnesota Limited, Inc. H&M is a family-owned corporation, founded in 1923, with offices throughout the U.S., including in Lakeville, Minn. Minnesota Limited, which is headquartered in Rogers, Minnesota, is a family-owned and operated business since 1966 and is one of the Midwest’s largest contractors serving the natural gas and petroleum industry.
Above-ground markers and facilities
In addition, there will be above-ground facilities associated with the pipeline, including a metering facility at the Flint Hills Resources refinery, a new pump station at existing facilities in Clearwater County near Clearbrook, and a new pump station in Krain Township, Stearns County. The Stearns County pump station site will be approximately two acres and include:
Snowmobile safety during winter construction Please note that where construction is underway and crossing snowmobile trails, safety representatives of Minnesota Pipe Line Company have installed barricades and blinking lights by these intersections. Also, signs are located on the trails alerting snowmobilers of construction ahead. Following are the snowmobile trails affected by this construction:
A flyer with this snowmobile safety information is available to download. For more information about trail conditions, visit www.dnr.state.mn.us. To view a map of each county crossed by the MinnCan Project, visit Project Maps.
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Once pipeline construction is complete and prior to the line beginning operations, Minnesota Pipe Line Company will mark the pipeline route by placing signs in several places along the pipeline route including where the pipeline intersects road crossings, river crossings and railways. Signs will not be placed where they could impede cultivation of the land crossed.